This weekend we had some family over. There was a festival in my community, and we planned to spend some time on the lake, eat dinner at home, and watch the fireworks from our living room.
Hosting Translation: we would be serving dinner and dessert, people would be in the kitchen, dining room, bathroom, living room, and outdoor spaces. In short, we “needed” every space party-ready.
In the past, this would have meant intricate meal planning and extensive cleaning.
This weekend we looked around and said, “let’s do a simple BBQ, give the bathroom and counters a quick swipe, and spend some time relaxing on the lake before people come, instead of intense party prep.”
And we did. We didn’t even vacuum.
But we did take a nap on paddle boards in the middle of the lake.
It was absolutely delightful.
Not all of our weekend to-do list got done (lets be real, it almost never does.)
Snacks for the afternoon consisted of throwing some pretzels and drinks in a cooler bag, and dessert was bowls of ice cream.
And it was perfect (even if the floors could have stood to be vacuumed).
I still tried a new recipe for potato salad, and made chocolate sauce for the ice cream while we talked in the kitchen in between lake time and fireworks. I wasn’t missing the action, but also didn’t need to silence my creativity.
The focus was family, and the house was a helpful tool because we’ve been practicing not just the mundane clean-outs, but the intentional focus shift away from stuff. I love it when a plan comes together.
Bonus prize: with so little to clean up from Sunday, when a friend stopped by on Monday, it took no extra effort to offer for them to stay for dinner.
Uncovering Real 