Ok... friends. House Dinner has returned for the School Season.... let's have a moment for the joy that means in my life. Tuesday's now trump most other days of the week.
House Dinner. I have written about them countless times, and most people in my life know that its my favorite thing about my community here in Lexington. It all started a little over two years ago, during the Summer of 2006. About half way through the summer of interning, Mandy (Baker), Theresa (Office), Jamie (Landscape), were all desiring food off of camp and hang out time at the fabulous White Oak Lane. In the beginning, they cooked at my house, I just got to show up. In the mix Matty got invited, and it turned into a fairly regular shin dig with us for the second half of that summer. I was going through photos on my computer the other day and it was fun to see the file with "Dinner Club" on there. My friendships with Jamie and Theresa really sprung out of those nights, and built what is now a continued fantastic friendships. Mandy and I had already established closeness, and so the time to hang out was just bonus!
The following winter when Theresa moved down to Lexington from Ohio, she, Jen, and I thought that it would be a great thing to have dinner at the house once a week. The first night we were set to do this, Holmes got in on it. The intention was for it to be small. A week or two later I made my favorite "Capt. Crunch Chicken", and so Joel and Matty got invited as well. That was it. We continued that way for the rest of the school season up until summer as the 6 of us.
House Dinner changed again this past year as Jen moved to the Tot, Mandy moved in, Guthrie moved to town, and Tex moved into the boys house. The table got stretched to accommodate 8, and then we made it 9 with Katie Shepard. In all my traveling and coming and going, I hinged a lot of my plans on Wednesday-Mondays, so that I could be home on Tuesday's to see everyone. I think that was the piece I could never let go of completely.
This year, more changes and more people. We are now broken into houses, and we will alternate whose home we are in each Tuesday, and those that live there will come together to make the meal... for a total of TWELVE.
Last night after two committee meetings I hurried myself over to The Boys House so that I could enjoy the rest of the evening with everyone. As I walked into their house I could only be thankful for the laughter I heard abounding from the dining room. The sound was familiar... the sound in of itself was a feeling of complete warmth... it was Home.
What started small with a few friends sharing an evening to cook and laugh together two years ago, has turned into something that I can't imagine my life without. Having left Property Staff, I don't see them all very often, so I love the time to enjoy them without work- to see them as themselves and not the roles they play at camp in the day to day.
I'm blessed tremendously by their friendships, but also by the night once a week we all put aside to share, to eat, to laugh, and to be with each other with no other reason then to enjoy the community we have.
I love Tuesday's. It's better then... just about everything.
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