Today I organised together with my husband the first home party after a break of a few years. It was a « New Year party/ post-Christmas/ we’re finally ready to organise a party » kind of event.
For years we stayed isolated and the walls of the place I call home did not see guests coming over. There was the pandemic with the multiple lockdowns, then a pregnancy, then home preparations and decorations for the arrival of a baby, then a huge baby related clutter followed by an astronomical change of life which initially felt like a tsunami – becoming parents. It was a complete chaos for months.
Long time after becoming officially a mother, my mind could not even envisage the possibility to ever be able to organise a home party, with all the baby and maternity things going on. As a matter of fact, at the beginning, even going out with a newborn seemed a huge effort. Moreover the marathon of breastfeeding and multiple pumping seesions (sometimes even up to seven sessions that I had to fit on a day), the excruciating symptoms of post-delivery fatigue and of the sleep deprivation (night after night) were making me feel as if I were trapped in tumble dryer that kept turning and turning and I just needed to hang on and let it be.
And here we are, 10 month old parents and 10 month old baby, on a sunny winter day, opening their home for the very first time and welcoming friends over. The dog was barking happily. The children were playing on the play mat. I cooked as if we had been twice as much people.
We sat on the play mat with the children. We stood in front of the kitchen, although there were lots of free chairs around. Children tipple tailed on the yellow play mat and some of us even attempted to do some yoga postures. Why not? We ate and laughed and chatted, we hugged and held babies and toddlers. We clapped, we sang todlder songs and we danced in a silly way. We had a good time. And it felt so good to be a host again. It was again possible. My heart was jumping with joy, while seeing friends all together.
I had a good day and now I am ending it with a big smile on my face and with loads of food to store in an overcrowded fridge. Social connection is priceless. And so it is good food, laughter, claps and silly songs shared with people that we appreciate. They all nourish our wellbeing and even our health.
Gabriela D. Spencer 