How well do you cope with visitors at home? Do you stress out a bit (or a lot) over preparations?
This is what I was thinking about this morning, before driving to the airport to pick up my sister Cristina and my nephews Pablo and Andrés (welcome guys!). I used to get suuuuper stressed out when someone was coming to visit us at home, and then, as years went by, I was able to relax a little bit, thankfully!
(Photo of an arts and crafts heart Eva made in school a couple of years ago, permanently displayed on the kitchen´s whiteboard)
I think part of the problem, at least in my case, was the belief that my house had to be perfectly clean and tidy for me to be able to properly receive visitors. Now I realise that this was a reflection, on the one hand, of certain habits from my family in particular, and on the other hand, of the societal norms that ruled generations prior to ours.
Antiguamente, en muchas casas se reservaba una salita o salón específicamente para las visitas (un sitio donde habitualmente los niños no podían estar, no fuera a ser que ensuciaran o rompieran algo), y se sacaba «la vajilla buena» para servir el café, la merienda o lo que se terciara. Era impensable que las visitas pasaran hasta la cocina o las habitaciones de la familia… A no ser que a la anfitriona le diera por enseñarles la casa entera, cosa que mi madre hacía de vez en cuando (qué recuerdos, entrar en pánico y tener que ordenar nuestro cuarto en tiempo récord para poder enseñárselo a la visita de turno).
Thankfully, nowadays things have changed. Houses have more open layouts; a lot of daily life happens in the kitchen, and social relationships tend to be much less formal. Or maybe it´s just me: years ago, I decided I didn´t want any "visitors" in my house, or rather, I didn´t want anybody coming to see us to feel like they were a visitor (defining visitors in the old way, as in "stay in your designated area"). The meeting point in our current house is definitely the kitchen, which is a simple space, nothing luxurious, but very cosy and welcoming, and I no longer feel (so) bad about the house not being perfect, although I, of course, like to keep it reasonably clean and tidy.
At the end of the day, what really matters is us being able to get together and have a good time. And I have learned that being more flexible and simplifying certain things allows me to enjoy the moment a lot more, and of course, to enjoy the company.
What´s your take on this? Are you in favour of entertaining visitors, or would you rather have "non-visitors"?