"To say I froze is an understatement. What is he doing? I thought he was just going to pop it into the mailbox. When I opened the door, he stood there with his two kids (two kids I adore), and I tried to talk to him through the sliver of the door so that he didn't see past me into our entryway."
"Because, literally, our house was trashed. Do you remember the old Febreze commercials where they blindfolded someone and set them in a pile of garbage? My house would've been the perfect set. At that exact moment, it looked like every viral TikTok video of someone sharing their "depression bedroom" as they start sweeping items out from behind furniture. But instead, as his kids waved excitedly to me, asking where my kids were and trying to peer around me, I simply stepped aside."
"And I swear, it rewired my brain. I've always loved hosting. I've always loved putting out bowls of chips and homemade dip, chopping fruit, and making sure I have plenty of cans of sunscreen for all the kids splashing around in the sprinklers in our yard. But just letting people stop by unannounced and letting them into my home? That's scary."
I froze when a friend unexpectedly rang the doorbell to deliver a letter from his son, and I tried to keep him from seeing past the sliver of the door because the house was trashed. The entry looked like a Febreze commercial or a viral “depression bedroom” TikTok, with piles, dishes in the sink, and laundry mounded up. Letting the visitors in despite the mess produced a surprising emotional shift. I have always loved hosting planned gatherings, preparing food, and accommodating guests, but unannounced drop-ins now provoke fear. Daily clutter, open closet doors, and scattered coats make spontaneous hosting feel overwhelming.
Read at Scary Mommy
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