photo credit: LoveFeast Table
I had coffee with a new-ish friend yesterday. I've known her a little over a year, but she's one of those people who I've instantly clicked with and is good for my soul, because I feel like she just gets me. She moved into a new house a while back, and things have been crazy busy for her, but she just texted me the other day to ask me over for coffee. She's adorable, and so is her new house, and I was excited to get the grand tour and see how she's made it a home. She showed me the dining room chairs she had just painted, and the top of the console table she planned to paint the same color. I saw the spaces where she creates, where her children sleep, and had coffee in the kitchen where she has hers every morning.
There is something sacred about inviting someone into your space. One of my favorite authors, Shauna Niequist, talks about how we have become 'the third place' generation. We meet in a third place outside of one another's homes usually. We tend to prefer the coffee shop, out for dinner, or happy hour drinks to gatherings at home. But, there is something different and more true about meeting in our first places - in our kitchens and living rooms. Inviting our friends to share coffee at the same table our kids do their homework after school, preparing a little something for them with our own two hands, or like my friend did, stopping by the bakery for two perfectly gooey cinnamon rolls to indulge in together while taking an hour and a half to talk about life.
It's not just that it connects us to each other. It really does connect us to our truest and humblest selves. Nothing humbles you like being vulnerable enough to share your dust bunnies and the inside of your fridge with a friend. We have no choice but to drop our masks and leave perfect at the door, whether we're the one being invited in or the one doing the inviting. I want my friendships to look more like this; real connection in real ways over simply being willing to let each other in. So thanks for the coffee Kristin, and for the record, I didn't see one dust bunny and the inside of your fridge was lovely.
This post is also included in the Gathered Thoughts Link Party. All participating bloggers have shared a post based on a quote from one of LoveFeast Table's lovely Gathered Thoughts Box. Head on over to check out the other posts, and enter for your chance to wine a Gathered Thoughts Box of your own or this great spiral journal set.
