Making Your Home Sing Monday!

Well, another Easter has come and gone...where does the time fly? The Nagle clan had an absolutely wonderful Easter at the home of friends. What was billed as a brunch scheduled to run from 11:00 to 1:00 ran until 6:00 pm. The kids dubbed it the best holiday they've had since we moved to Spokane. What made it so special? Being surrounded by a warm-loving family that welcomed them without a second thought. Since we moved 1300 miles from any family at all, our holidays have felt a little bit anti-climactic...there is a huge build-up to the holiday and no matter how excited they are, no matter how well we've planned, they are not surrounded by grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and they feel the lack. This Easter made them (and us) feel like we've turned the corner and our new home town and are actually part of things. It was a wonderful feeling and I'm so grateful to Mrs. M including us in her family's Easter celebration.

So, what does this have to do with Making Your Home Sing Monday? Quite a lot, actually. Next Monday we'll be welcoming family to our home. We'll be meeting family members we've never met and renewing acquaintances allowed to languish. What we were reminded of today was the importance of that welcome, that initial smile and greeting, the abundance of food, the generosity of spirit that a true welcome encompasses. We were also reminded that initial reticence or awkwardness does not have to define the outcome of the visit. That a cheerful smile and an open demeanor will quickly smooth away those initial moments of discomfort. So, for this week our house will be singing Anticipation (but more like the ketchup commercial rather than like for a man, if you know what I mean) as we work hard to make our home ready to welcome these much anticipated guests. We'll do extra cleaning and extra cooking. Our actions will be fueled with excitement of knowing we're getting to pass along the wonderful feeling we got from being made so welcome at Easter. Our goal is not a perfectly clean home or perfectly executed meals. Instead our goal is turning all the anticipation we're feeling about this visit into actions that will make our guests know just how much we appreciate them visiting us and how special they've made us feel by spending their precious time off with us. If we can make this happen, then we'll feel successful.

To see what everyone else is doing for Making Your Home Sing Monday, check with them over at Mom's the Word. There is always something wonderfully inspirational about the things these ladies do.