Life is about creating places to sit...
Now I'm not that experienced in having houses and apartments (I lived in the Chi O house for all 4 years in college and then an apartment that the Forge provided for this past year) but from what I've learned about people, hospitality, and hosting is that sitting is underrated. For some reason, sitting takes the edge off of entertaining and takes you to a downhome way of connecting. Maybe because it puts everyone on the same eye level, or maybe simply because it takes the stress off your feet, but whichever the reason, it does change the way people interact. They seem more at ease, more at home, and it opens up a whole new level of communication and connecting.
It only makes sense because when you think about it often the first thing people will say when you walk in their home or office is, "Want to sit down?" or "Have a seat!"
Hospitality is something that I don't think I will ever get tired of learning about or feel like I've mastered, but welcoming people in is a gift I feel that the Lord has blessed me with, and I just thought I would share my thoughts the past few days about creating places to sit.
As I've been home for the summer, I have been helping Mom do some remodeling/rearranging at our house, while also trying to prepare to move into my first apartment, and it dawned on me the other day that creating places to sit is important. Even if you have a beautiful home, kitchen, or room, if there are no places to sit, there is really not that much opportunity to enjoy the space and connect with those around you. Now sometimes, like in a kitchen, there just isn't that much room to create an entire sitting area, obviously haha but I think now when I'm tying to buy furniture or rearrange a room, I'm thinking more about the conversations that could take place the connections that could be made if there is thought put into where people could sit.
Now I also realize that the floor is a big option. There are several homes I have been in and places I have visited, that sitting on the floor seemed like the most perfect option. One is the family I nannied for last summer, they had an open house and a big wood floor that connected to their kitchen. There was a little couch and then several toys for their 16-month-old little girl to play with. I can't even count the amount of moments Lacey and I had sitting on the floor. Elah crawling around, learning to walk by herself, taking naps on blankets, the list goes on...the floor was just the right place to be.
Also, in my room here at home. It is a pretty big space with white soft carpet, and the seating is limited. I have my bed....and well, that's pretty much it. For my desk, I actually have an exercise ball as the chair (trust me I'm not as trendy as I seem...it is simply due to the fact that I never made the time to go out and find a chair that would fit with my desk...so hence, the exercise ball. It always fits well because even when days go by where I don't do any exercise (happens more often than I would like to admit) I still can convince myself that I did something along those lines because I sat on an exercise ball while working at my desk hahaha!! A little journey through my thoughts there....) Anyway...back to my room....as you can probably get the picture, I never took the time to create any place to sit, but the floor serves it's purpose and maybe even better than I realize because there's no limit on the amount of people and conversations it can bring. The other night, after we threw my little sister a graduation tea, she had a few friends sleep over, my best friend Elizabeth was over, and my mom was upstairs enjoying the fun and we were all sitting on my floor. Laughing, talking, and enjoying each other.
And this past year in the Forge, with 28 people eating dinner in a small apartment, we utilized every single space of the floor. It was a blast though and some of our most treasured memories.
I just think we can't look past the role that sitting plays in our lives and the metaphor of it bringing people and conversations together. From the front porch to the floor and everywhere in between...creating a place to sit is what life is all about. Just a few of my thoughts for the day...
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| Our front porch -- Audrey and I joke that they could have saved a lot of money on a breakfast room table because we eat almost all of our meals out here in the summer. |
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| Elah and me in our usual hangout spot...on the floor :) |
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| One of our many 28 person dinners...notice the empty spaces on the couch... that's when you know you're used to sitting on the floor haha |
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| Audrey and her friends turned the back porch into a feng shui sitting area the other night... |
