The weather was not what we had hoped for, but it was not as bad as forecast with the really heavy rain slipping just off to our east. We tried to finish our preparations the night before, but inevitably ended up working most of the morning to finish getting ready. But by noon we were relaxing, catching our breath, and waiting for visitors.
Our son, daughter-in-law, and grand-daughter were the first to arrive, so we got to spend a little quality time with “schmoo.” With the comfort of her parents nearby she decided I was not as scary as previously thought. She also discovered that she could crawl quite well on the carpet in the basement. Our daughter, her husband, and his daughter (our 16 year old step-grand-daughter) showed up next, so we had just the locally-based family for a while.
Other visitors eventually came and went throughout the afternoon, and we had a quite a crowd between 2 and 5 PM. A few people called to say they couldn’t make it due to illness, a few others who said they were coming didn’t show up, and a few who didn’t RSVP showed up anyway, so it all balanced out in the end. Everyone seemed to like the new house and many of them also enjoyed finally seeing the bus for the first time. One person noted that the bus was “a big commitment.” I hadn’t thought about it in those terms, but it is an appropriate description on so many levels.
The conversation was brisk, and folks who had never met seemed to make quick friends. The one downside to the open house was that Linda and I did not get to visit very long with anyone as we were continuously busy greeting new arrivals, giving “tours” of the house and the bus, and saying “farewell” as folks left. Keeping up with the food and beverages would have been an added challenge, but our daughter was gracious enough to help with all of that.
The food seemed to be a big hit. Everyone who knows us knows by now that we are following a whole-food, plant-based (vegan) way of eating. I think some of them are unsure (concerned?) about what they will be fed if they come to our house. The fact is that if they didn’t know how we eat, and we hadn’t said anything about the food, no one would have known that it did not involve the use of any animal products. Linda has gotten that good at cooking this way.
The last guests were gone by 6 PM and we spent a couple of hours putting food away and cleaning up dishes. A lot of folks brought a card and/or housing warming gift, which was very thoughtful and quite unexpected, so we spent a quiet hour opening them and making careful note of who brought what. Most of the gifts were consumable, so we will enjoy them without having to find a permanent place for them. The few gifts that were objects were equally appreciated and will find their place somewhere in the house and/or bus.
We were glad to see those who could come, and sorry not to see those who couldn’t, and apologize to those we didn’t invite. There was certainly no slight intended. We will have folks back individually, but the open house allowed a lot of people to form a clear image of where we now live and that should make it easier for them to find their way back here at some point in the future. The open house also provided a hard deadline for us to get sufficiently moved in, without which we would very likely still have had boxes piled in rooms and artwork stacked in the library a year from now.