Playing hostess

For my Thursday night Bible study, we've been rotating houses after our normal host had her second baby. It's been fun to visit everyone else's houses and even host myself. 

I hosted last night, which motivated me to get my Christmas tree and other decorations up. I was seriously doubting whether I was going to put Christmas up this year, but knowing other people would see it made it seem worth it.

I don't go to a lot of trouble when I'm hosting, mostly clean up or hide my clutter, make my bed and wipe out my bathroom sink. But as I was pulling out Christmas decorations I found Christmas napkins and cups. Someone else was bringing the snack, but I was providing the paper products. 

When she came in with salsa, I realized I also needed plates. I went to the top of my fridge where I knew I had some random plates. I reached up and pulled down the plates that matched the Christmas napkins. All I could think was: My mom would be proud.

I didn't spend a lot of time in the kitchen as a kid — mostly because I was interested in other things and my mom knew I wouldn't eat dinner if I saw what was going in the casserole (or other dish) — so I didn't learn a lot about cooking from my mom.

But what I did learn was how to be a good hostess. We all had to participate when there was a party at our house. My mom throws a great party and really enjoys herself. She is practical and knows what she can make that will allow her to be out of the kitchen to enjoy the party. She is also good at the last minute. I could call on my way home from school and tell her five friends were with me, and she'd pull together something that would feed everyone or order pizza all the while welcoming my friends and making it seem like that was the plan all along.

I don't throw parties very often, and I'm usually exhausted after the fact but I love seeing people enjoy themselves in my home. Of course, hosting Bible study is great because it is low-key. And it turns out I have the napkins and plates that match to host anything.

I know this isn't a very exciting blog post, but I was trying to explain this in a Facebook status and it just didn't work. But thanks mom for always being a good host and showing me how.