Being With Friends

What do you do when you have friends over?

If you're like me, you might be more preoccupied with making sure everything's perfect, fussing over the presentation of the food or checking that every bit of household mess is artfully concealed.

I've been working hard to be a more relaxed hostess (yes, I know that sounds like an oxymoron), and I think I'll get there...oh maybe when I'm 55 and finally know all about baking slices and cupcakes. :)

Today, we celebrated Australia Labour Day with our friends the Sawyers. They're friends from church and their boys attend Heathdale, where Beth goes to school.

It was the most amazing 4 hours of our lives.

The time just whizzed by as we spent quality time talking, learning about each other, enjoying their hospitality and admiring their self-constructed outdoor pergola (a thing of engineering beauty that I could imagine the typical S'porean forking out $10k for a pro to handle rather than building it from scratch themselves).

It's such a luxury to be able to sit down with just one family, and do nothing but fully focus on each other. Often, the temptation in hosting a party is to get several families together at the same time, on the basis that it's more "efficient".

The trade-off is that people can get lost in the bustle of activity, unless everybody knows everybody. Plus, you don't get to have deep conversations or meaningful exchanges if you (the host) are busy flitting from group to group making sure everyone is taken care of.

Today, we were blessed with an abundance of good things - good food, great company, kid-friendly entertainment, and rich fellowship. The hostess discreetly moved about clearing the table, setting out the appetizers, mains, dessert and tea/coffee, all the while making us feel we had her full attention. The boys were wonderful, taking out toys for J, watching Mr. Bean videos with Beth. We had lunch indoors and when it got a bit cooler, moved outside to have our tea under the shade of the newly constructed pergola.

Thank you Lord for a wonderful afternoon and for showing us what hospitality and friendship are about.