hospitality feels like home

I've lost track of the number of people who've invited us into their homes since our move to Austin one month ago.  (today, as a matter of fact)  Each dish passed and drink poured a new layer of comfort, welcoming us into a new place.  

please notice Brian's trifecta of man-friend joy:  beer, bourbon and Oreo cookies

Even so, there's nothing quite so familiar as welcoming company into our home.  The rhythms of preparation:  counting out place mats, tidying up the quadrillion pairs of shoes inside the front door, brewing iced tea, grilling meat with hometown marinade.  

Bob, Jennifer and little J

We invited a few people over this past Labor Day weekend.  Several of us had never met each other before Saturday.  Three of the five families in attendance had moved to Austin within the previous month.  We were coming from San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Dallas.  As often as we dismiss the value of social networking, we owed our meal to the power of facebook and blogspot.  

Chris, Micha (mama monk herself!) and sleepy boys

And as far apart as we started, it didn't take long for us to rack up a tidy list of six-degrees-type connections.   Seriously, what are the chances that every single one of these recent Austin transplants would have either grown up in or attended college in New York state.  Not just New York state, but central New York state?  

oh my heart was happy to see little ones enjoying our old children's books again!

At the end of the day, after we'd swapped stories and side dishes, said our good-byes and let's talk again soons, I put away the remaining dishes, wiped off the counters, crashed on the couch with a contented sigh:  Today, this feels like home.