The Importance of A Warm Welcome
I had a very long dentist appointment this morning due to xrays and whatall, so except for a nice long walk with Norah this morning, I completely missed my time with the kids. David took them to visit his parents in the hospital (Dad is having hip replacement surgery, Mom is in a nursing facility so that she can be cared for while he is recovering), so when I got home at 11, I actually had two hours all by myself to craft and cook! It took me about 20 minutes to assemble these two little elves to greet Adam and Norah when they walked in the door - we are big on joyful welcomes home, and I knew we'd both be disappointed that I wasn't here when they arrived. My favorite aspect of these elves is the little bell I sewed onto the top of each hat.
There is just nothing like walking in the door and being welcomed with an enthusiastic "MOMMY!!!!" along with lots of smiles and giggles. I drop everything and pick them up, hug and kiss them a ton, and we are just pure happiness.
One day, a couple of weeks ago, I was going to pick up a pizza on the way home from a stressful day at work but realized I had no cash to do so (the $5 large pizza option is cash only), so I arrived home empty-handed. Instead of the usual warm greeting, the first words I heard from my husband and my kids were "Pizza!!!" They were bummed to not get pizza, but I think I felt worse, being greeted like that. I grumpily put the kids in the car and we went to pick up the pizza together (this was when Dave was recovering from a minor surgery and he couldn't do much - i.e. cook or drive); fortunately, along the way, a sing-along improved my mood. All this is to say, I think when we focus on things or on what kind of day we have been having, I don't think we give very warm welcomes to each other. Greetings and goodbyes are so important.
Taking the time to really give a whole-hearted hug or to look into my husband's eyes rather than just give a quick peck while my eyes dart toward the door sometimes takes a disciplined slowing-down.
Now let's go and give someone a big, happy welcome!
1 comment:
Such a great word Carole. I feel that I frequently carry my kind of day into my greeting. Since most days are fairly stressful, that can spill over and affect the subsequent hours together. I'm especially convicted that I need to STOP and give Josh a really loving welcome when he gets home rather than spouting off about who needs a new diaper and what's cooking in the crock-pot before I run off to the gym. Good word friend. We'd love to hang out some time this week. Give me a ring.--Di
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