Image by Lasse C via Flickr
No, not website hosting. People hosting.
Ever since we’ve been together, my spouse and I have really enjoyed having people visit or live with us. I mean we’ve really enjoyed it and it’s been one of the landmarks of our life together. We had a family who stayed with us for over five years, and we’ve also had houseguests who’ve stayed for a month or three. It just makes us happy, to have other people around. It broadens our lives and I think it makes us kinder, friendlier people. When it’s “just us,” we tend to get grumpier and more impatient. But we put on our company selves for company, and the nice stuff leaks back into the family.
Right now our elder daughter is being hosted by a family in Costa Rica. They are housing her and feeding her and taking care of her. I have lived with many a host family while studying Spanish in Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and they have all been wonderful to us. Now it’s her turn to go out there.
So when we got an email this week asking our crew team if people could host the US National Rowing team (that’s the OLYMPIC rowing team!), I got so excited. A new guest! An Olympic rower! Are you KIDDING? We signed up right away.
Our new guest is six foot eight and a wonderful guy. And he won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. How cool is that?!? He’s staying until January.
I’ve seen people grousing about having houseguests, especially around the holidays, but I really kind of love them. Of course it helps to have extra room to put them in. It might be different if I was tripping over them every five minutes. But for us, it gets kinda lonely when it’s “just us.”
November 18, 2011 at 7:37 pm
Sharing your home so generously, Susan, is something I envy.
We used to have a guest room but that became our company world headquarters. It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement,but it’s stayed that way.
Your life is enriched and your guests will be just more family
November 18, 2011 at 10:42 pm
“….guests will be just more family.” Aha. I think you hit on something there.
November 19, 2011 at 3:36 am
You are such a better person than I am. Guests make me crazy, even if I love them more than anything.
November 19, 2011 at 3:56 pm
i like having houseguests but then i start wishing i had a little space. like they could go home for a few hours. lol. having a guest room would definitely help that.. otherwise, it is fun to have people staying.
November 20, 2011 at 11:23 am
One of my regrets in life is that we have never hosted an exchange student. While we have an extra bedroom, it is my office for working from home and the place where my clothes live. I couldn’t give that up. But I wish we had one extra room!
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