Dinner Party Tonight

I'm part of a dinner circle at my church. There are six or seven families in my circle, and we take turns hosting a dinner party for the group, with a dinner every other month, or so, over the course of a year.

I was hoping the year would end before my turn came, just as I used to hope, back in high school P.E. class, that the softball game would end before I had my turn at bat. I am not good at entertaining, just as I am not good at sports. I wasn't brought up to entertain, and my house is TINY, and I'm a bad cook, to boot.

I am hosting the dinner circle tonight.

And now that I'm doing it, I'm excited. Yes, my house is tiny, compared to the large, beautiful, amazing houses of the others, but it's my sweet little house, and I'm proud of it and glad to be able to share it with the others, with the beloved members of my church family. There should be ten of us, or maybe eleven. I have room for six, or maybe seven, in a squeeze, around my kitchen table, and I've set up a card table next to it, to seat another four, and I've borrowed extra chairs from a friend, and extra dishes from the church kitchen. I've made lasagna, which is bound to be tasty, and the other guests will supply salad, bread, side dish, appetizer, and dessert.

It feels so good not to be ashamed of my house, or my entertaining skills, or my cooking prowess, but just to say, "Come! You are welcome to what I have." And I think it's good practice for not being ashamed of anything in my life, if I offer it with generous love. That's what poetry writing has become for me. I don't know if I'm a good poet, but I write my poems and email them to a few friends, or post them here on my blog, bidding the world welcome to them.

But I'm still not going to join any of the Philosophy Department sports teams!