August Buzz
Open Your House, Really!
I’ve decided I think everyone who has a space for
company should plan on hosting a guest in their home. Today. Or tomorrow.
Or next weekend. When you open your home you open yourself up to some wonderful
experiences. I know there are those occasions, especially with family,
when things can go south quickly, but come on, that is really rare.
I came from a big family, ten brothers and sisters; yes,
it’s true, we always had someone staying with us.
As a grownup I’ve had the pleasure of hosting my nieces and nephews
in all the different stages of their lives and really feel like I’ve
gotten to know them. When I was growing up the families all lived close by
so there was “never-ending time” spent with family. When my
kids were growing up we didn’t live near my family so they couldn’t
just run next door to grandma’s. We did, however, live close to Boston
which made our home an attractive offer when one of my relatives needed a
place to crash for a night, a weekend or even months at a time. We
always loved it.
So if you’re going to open your home you can’t
be the type of person who is very fussy about their house. I was always mystified
by people who treated their homes like it was a museum. It’s for living,
right? At least now they build homes with “great rooms” and
ditch the formal living rooms or the “museum room”. There’s
a reason they call them great rooms because great things can happen here;
gathering places for the big thinkers, family and holiday entertaining, kids
having parties you never gave permission for them to have (so glad no more
teenagers in the house)!
My family has always felt like it was natural to invite
friends to stay whenever they were in the area. As parents we are so lucky
because we get to truly know our kids friends which helps us know even more
about our own kids. We see them go from toddlers to adults and feel so comfortable
with all the people they have brought home. We do, of course, have extremely
cozy beds, because we are, after all, in the furniture business and the furniture
is made for real life. Trust me, our furniture has gotten a workout over
the years! We have hosted some guests this summer from a website called couchsurfing, and
of course it’s not risk-free, but for us, it has been great. It’s
a fun idea and it’s like being in a bed and breakfast but free. Check
out the website and sign up if you want a new adventure. You can meet people
from all over the world and then when you find yourself travelling you will
always have a couch to crash on with your couch-surfing buddy. I know we
all have our daily routines and sometimes wonder how can we possibly give
up time to make a new person welcome but it’s such a great way to make
new connections and engage in a new adventure. Hey, you never know what you
just might find out about yourself if you open up to new things! Buzz.
Peggy Burns
Queen Bee
Previous Buzz issues
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
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