Parade of Home

We have an unofficial Mayor of the Cul de Sac, a jovial guy whom you just really want to be in charge. You could feel like you might want to hand him a microphone, except he doesn’t need one. His voice is booming, his laughter is contagious, he’s the leader of our tribe, and he orchestrated a block party for Memorial Day.

Barefoot children with dirty faces, stained with Orange Crush.
Babies in strollers.
Grills on the sidewalk.
Hot dogs, hamburgers, fruit kabobs, and pies.
No traffic in the street.
Giggles and squeals from the trampolines.
Margaritaville and Brown-Eyed Girl blasting from the speakers of the Ford F-150.
“What brought you to Denver?”
“When did you move to the neighborhood? Oh, you’re the new ones who just moved in!”

There were families of every shape and size,
an ecclectic representation of ages,
a handful of Latter Day Saints who wore nametags but wouldn’t tell any of us their first names,
preferred to be called Sister and Elder,
and they don’t live in the neighborhood and I’m not sure how they became part of the night. But they were many. We grilled hot dogs for them too.

We had so much fun, and we made dozens of new friends. I fluttered about, tapping into the extrovert I once was. It’s good to see that girl come out to play now and then.

Turns out, it’s a neighborhood tradition to visit the home of the newest neighbors, to see what changes have happened since the previous owners moved out, to see how they’ve settled in, and to gather decorating and remodeling ideas.

And we are the new neighbors.

I have to say, in all fairness, Mayor Steve gave me a heads up about this a few weeks ago. I think I thought he was kidding. Who would want to see inside our home, I wondered. Well, about 40 people, to name a few.

So, good thing hospitality is my gig. I opened my doors. Come on in, my new friends. This kind of my favorite thing: when a great party moves right into my house. Sign me up. Every time.

You know what’s also a good thing? That I profess nowhere to be a good housekeeper. Nope. If you want Better Homes and Gardens, then you’ll want to choose a better home that has a garden. But if you’re okay with a modest display of dishes and laundry and fingerprints and splashes of KoolAid and smatterings of BeyBlades, if you’re ready to see grace lived in, then you’re welcome here.

Forty people, from my bedroom to the basement. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. It matters not to me who lived here before; I remain convinced this home and this neighborhood were made for us.

When the night was over, when the boys were in bed, and I was in that sleepy, blissful state after euphoric hostessing, I discovered I had left – not just one, but *two* – bras hanging from a doorknob in my bedroom.

So you know. That’s awesome.

Clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy.

Tricia Lott Williford

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  1. BWAHAHAHA!!! I love the bras!

  2. My mom would always leave her bras out, drying. So frequently that we began calling them handtowels when company came. My husband was initiated in the first months of dating to this wonderfulness. Always makes me laugh when I think about how many folks came out of the bathroom drying their hands on their pants. Thanks for the mental revisit to my growing up years.

  3. Your neighborhood sounds wonderful in so many ways. When we moved into our house almost two years ago (another great ‘hood), we had two LDS missionaries who just appeared to help us move, along with the movers β€” who were somewhat, um, grittier β€” that we had hired. I took a photo of a missionary and a dude with huge pot leaves stamped onto his pants moving a big piece of furniture in together. They stopped to pose and, by the end, were exchanging phone numbers. It was pretty awesome.

  4. lol! from someone who has also exposed to the public her private undies….HOPE THEY WERE PRETTY ONES!!!

  5. This is so great, Tricia!
    Oh and I so get that euphoric *exhausted, but somehow energized* state after hostessing—you captured it so well with those words.
    I am so happy for you in your new neighborhood—sounds like a perfect fit!
    As I read this adventure unfolding, you are such a good storyteller that I can almost believe it has happened in the past and you are re-telling tales of “Hey-boys-remember-when-we-first-moved-into-this-house? Remember-how-things-went-down?”
    Thanks for sharing.
    hugs from PA,
    Kim A.

  6. Oh my goodness! Thanks for the chuckle!

  7. Lol@ the bras. When my hubby and I first married, we had a single wide mobile home and the laundry closet was in the kitchen. It lacked doors because the washing machine was too big for the space. This wasn’t a problem until I hosted a birthday party for my daughter and after my guests left noticed my bras hanging from a nail above the dryer….right at eye level near the table we served refreshments on. Talked about lived in! Lol

  8. Laughing!

    That is awesome.

    I’m glad you let your extrovert out, and I’m glad you welcomed people into your house. That lived-in look makes others feel comfortable. Hospitality is about showing love and acceptance, not perfection.

    Although, I think it’s perfect that you had TWO bras hanging from your doorknob. πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€

    Janet

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