This week I hosted a family party in my home. Doing this always brings into full view the flaws in my home configuration and management. I long for a large space where cooking, eating, and sitting comfortably are simultaneously possible. This is not the space I have. My house is optimized for daily living rather than for group entertaining. Further, it is set up for the particular mix of individual people who live in my house and their adaptive needs. We have harsh bright lights for those who need bright light to see. We have multiple fridges for those who need separation to keep track of food. Things which most people hide neatly in drawers are instead hung on hooks. It is a house of compromises. It is also a house in transition. There are planned changes which will help make the house easier to switch into entertaining mode while also making it simpler for daily living. Most of those changes are waiting on time and resources that I don’t currently have.
It is so easy to be dissatisfied with my house. We had a party anyway. It was fine. If you don’t have the perfect container for the thing you want to hold, you use the container that will do the job. My house was good enough to hold this party. Food was supplied. A folding table was deployed. None of the people who had to say “excuse me” and slide around each other complained about it. Games and puzzles happened. Connections were renewed and gifts were exchanged.
My house is not what I wish it were, but it does the job well enough.