I just came back from welcoming a family of seven that first stayed with me back in 2012. They came the same week four years ago, from December 26-January 2. This family is from Ohio, and the mom is a neurosurgeon and the dad is an architect. They have five kids, all of which are way more grown up then the last time I saw them, naturally.
The Ohion’s stayed at another of my properties last time, but it’s since been sold. They really favor the old and crazy places, and seem to like the current place they’ve booked. They were excited about the retro pink and black tiles in the bathroom, exclaiming how the bathroom looked like their old bathroom, and didn’t seem at all fazed by the eccentricities of the electric system, and loved the wide plank kitchen floor even though it does slope a little.
The family showed up in a Rav 4. Seven of them, with the youngest being 16 and I’m guessing the oldest is mid-20’s, so not tiny people. They had some sort of an attachment on the back that held their luggage. They showed up with books, a bin of games, their luggage of course, and their favorite pillows. None of the kids had headphones or ear buds in, and they all greeted me with a hug, even though they maybe met me for 10 minutes years ago. When they were here before, Jane and I chatted about knitting as I was just learning, and she was making a beautiful wool hat which I complimented her on. She left me the hat as a gift even though I’m sure it was intended as a gift for someone else.
Anyhow, I usually come into the forum to rant and whine and this time I wanted to post about this wonderful family that left me feeling so warm and fuzzy, and full of hope for the coming year. I never forget a bad experience with a guest, but I have to re-train myself to actually forget the bad experiences, and let only the wonderful experiences like today take any room in my brain.
I want to do something special for this family and it might be a gift box of goofy hats and 2017 glasses for New Years, or it might be bringing them a nice big baked ziti dinner one night, I’m not sure. All that I am sure about is that this all happened today when I was feeling a bit weary, and now I feel wonderful.
I hope that everyone else has such a good experience to finish off their hosting year!
