Simple Hospitality

Photo by Jessie Orrico at Unsplash

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Around the Farmhouse

Nonna Duty

• Helping my Daughter & Son after Noodle's arrival on the 6th
  
• Visiting the High Desert Museum with Little Guy - he's a hoot, hunching down to see the chickens
  

Garden

• Iris bulbs planted
  
• Transplanted climbing rose
  
• Summer garden planned
  

Thoughts for the Week

Radical hospitality, which is not the same as entertainment at all, is a messy endeavor.

The art of creating a home, family and community takes time as well as a persevering commitment to the work.

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Dear Farmhouse Diary,

Living life together is difficult during the pandemic. And hospitality seems nonexistent. Until I remember the heart of hospitality has very little to do with entertaining, but with the simple acts of community. It's the little everyday life things we do consistently for others.

We live our lives together best by physical closeness -- hugs, handshakes, a pat on the back, laughter. All activities which we have minimized in one way or another for the past year. Even when we do see one another our masks hide a big portion of our faces...

One community I had hoped to build this year was with the Boss's university students -- opening our home to them, feeding them, just talking with them as they navigate early adulthood. And I am saddened by what we missed.

I am impressed by the Boss's family - the commitment to meeting once a week by Zoom has been an act of radical hospitality. Extended family - the patriarch, out-of-state family, siblings & spouses, adult grandchildren and great-grandchildren - check in with each other, tell stories and really corny jokes, and play digital games together every Saturday evening.  This time together feels almost sacrosanct, too important to miss.

The simple hospitality lessons I've learned -- or relearned in a different context -- by the weekly Zoom chats include consistency of presence, humor, listening and caring. All of these things are possible without being physically close with each other.

Hopefully, we will be able to share our laughter and hugs in person in the near future.