Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. (1 Peter 4:9 NIV)
I had a pretty good weekend. Jay had to work, but I felt productive, not super rushed and the weather was beautiful. My kids had kids over the whole weekend from Friday night to Sunday night...some people think, ugh, how do you do that and why? Let me tell you why...
We live way out in the country. I remember wishing so much that I lived in town so I could run around and go to so and so's house and just 'hang out' doing whatever with all my friends. I always felt like I missed out a little because I would hear about them running around town freely. Now that I'm a parent, I see the great advantages to living in the country, out in the middle of nowhere. I have almost total control over who is at my house and who my kids are hanging out with. That is not to say that I think all kids in town are unsupervised, trouble or mischievous. I KNOW that my kids will mess up, get in trouble and are certainly mischievous on their own...they need no encouragement from others:)
As a consequence to this, I feel like I must encourage kids over to our house. And honestly, I don't really mind. Yes, there are all sorts of messes to clean up, extra laundry to do (yesterday...kids+pond=muddy mess), extra food to buy (where did all that cereal go that I just bought?), lots and lots of snacks, patience, etc. Jay and I both feel it is important to try our best to make our home a safe place (shush it, I know what you're thinking but we do okay in the human department) and an open and welcoming environment for our kids and their friends. And the important thing here is, I know where my children are and what they're doing for the most part.
It is not that I do not trust the parents of our kids' friends or feel like their supervision or environment isn't good enough, I appreciate the fact that some people just don't have it in them to open their home to constant kids. I also realize that there are some kids out there that do not have a safe or "normal" home environment. Some kids may need a glimpse of what life can be like if their home life isn't so great, something to shoot for when they grow up. I don't want it to come across like we have this wonderful home life and everything is perfect, la-ti-da, but I feel like we have a fairly normal, stable and nurturing environment. (We certainly have the whole cycle of life thing down with our animals mishaps. We really should come up with some new life lesson topics, huh?)
Do I want to be their best friend? Absolutely not. Do I want to be their parents? No way, I've got my own two I'm struggling to guide. But when extra kids are at our house, I will get after them just like my own, I will expect them to do the things I expect my kids to do, I will try to keep them safe, offer them a decent meal or snack, transport them where they need to be when, make them go to church with us, answer their questions when they have them, etc. I try to love on them like I would my own if the opportunity arises. There are times when I am guessing the kids think I've lost my ever-loving mind or I'm mean or grouchy...and sometimes that is true.
I know that there will come a time that I won't know where they're at or who they're with unless they are honest with me. But while I've still got the upper hand, I need to use it. I am thankful that we live in a small community and have lots of lots of good friends and family to help raise our children. Our home needs to be welcoming and a safe haven for our kids and their friends. I certainly don't want my kids to be homebodies never wanting to leave our house or their mama, I do need my space...but right now, I'll just take a deep breath and soak it in, it won't last forever...
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