Preparing for visitors is one of the great joys of my life. Difficult truth be told, in the past it was sometimes even more preferable to the visits themselves, but that was before I stopped the big parties and focused on the ones who mattered most. These days, it’s an exercise of pure joy, the rekindled ecstasy of living in the moment-before-the-moment-of-arrival. A breathless anticipation that approaches grace and sets me at ease with happy hints of hope and possibility. I’m allowing myself to feel that again.
An armful of gladiolus blooms, heavy and weighted with colorful promise, is gently dropped on the counter as I fill a favorite vase with water. An attic loft is made up for the next visitor, branches of a coral bark maple (happily in need of pruning just at the right moment) standing tall and bringing a bit of the outdoors inside.
I text my friend that turn-down service will be available upon request, and send her the picture below. Happy host = happy visit.
