The house is strangely quiet. I suspect in the next thirty minutes, there will be the sound of folks stirring in the house. This is the third consequetive weekend that we've hosted family from out-of-town. I don't think we could ever tire of sharing time and space with folks we love.
Dinner last night proved to be an unexpected surprise. The General suggested we have beef and chicken fajitas. I grilled a couple of weeks ago, and the General put enough food in the freezer to feed an army. At least that was her recollection when she told me what was planned for dinner last night.
A couple of weeks ago, the General was insistent that we have both beef and chicken fajaitas. My grill is large enough to handle one or the other. I voted for beef, and she drew a line in the sand and said we were having both.
As it turned out, we did have both. What we didn't remember is that I grilled only half of the beef and half of the chicken fajitas. The discovery that last night's meal had not yet been grilled took both of us by surprise.
The company that arrived in time for dinner had driven five hours to get here. I suspected they probably didn't want a road trip to get to a restaurant. We opted to stay local, and it was a good choice.
In my blog yesterday, I mentioned the family times shared in Nocona, and the memories that surfaced in my writing came from both me and my daughter.
After dinner last night, it was pleasant outside, and it proved to be a good time to visit on the front porch. That, too, was the catalyst for memories from long ago. In the early years of my childhood, my maternal grandparents lived in a rambling old house with a wraparound front porch. It was the setting for many late night conversations.
I am hopeful our front porch will be a setting for many conversations. There is something about being outdoors in a comfortable space that strikes a chord with me.
Both sets of my grandparents always welcomed others in their home. For that matter, so did my parents. They were gracious, kind and appreciative of every visit. The desire for duplicating that kind of environment has always been second nature to me. It just feels right.
When I tell people the welcome mat is always out, I mean it. "Mi casa es tu casa" works for me. With the exception of my workspace upstairs that sometimes has too many pieces near my computer, the house never looks cluttered. The General runs a pretty tight ship.
All My Best!
Don
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