I am sure she is a delightful lady, but if I had to make a list of my least favorite people, Martha Stewart would give Troy Aikman a run for his money. While I find her olive oil sprayer and comfort-grip citrus zester curiously innovative (read: unnecessary), she has nearly single-handedly wrecked entertaining for the average woman.
A few years ago, I recall seeing part of a television segment during which she stated, "And before serving the brownies, of course we need to cut the edges off. We don't want to serve those brownie borders to our guests, do we?" Uh, really? (I am assuming that she wasn't the brilliance behind the Edge Brownie Pan). Her perfectly proportioned magazine cover layouts and dinner table centerpieces leave no room for the wonderfully warm, mildly chaotic, and slightly dusty homes that I find most welcoming.
Don't get me wrong. I go nearly clinically insane when my home is in disarray (Except for dusting, which only gets done when I realize that the shelf I once assumed was black has now taken on a light gray hue). But try as I might, I am very aware that when I am preparing for visitors, my motive is to impress. I want all of my homely ducks in a row so that it will appear that I have all of MY ducks in a row.
How much richer would our hospitality be if we spent ten less minutes scrubbing the scuff marks off the kitchen floor and, instead, put a few minutes of thought into how to serve our guests with our conversation and encourage their hearts? What if we chose to opt for reheated leftovers rather than a four-course meal so that we would be able to be more mentally engaged in the discussion? How much deeper would our relationships be if we just invite that family over, regardless of whether or not there are dishes in the sink?
No comments:
Post a Comment