Hospitality Humor

I’d like to introduce you to one more of my dear friends today. Clara Boisvert is a pastor’s wife at Covenant Life Church whom I’ve known for over thirty years. In fact, as I’ve mentioned before, Clara’s wedding day is one I will never forget!

Clara is a godly, discerning woman and an exceptional wife and mother. She’s also extremely funny. No one makes me laugh quite like Clara. And I thought her humorous perspective would be a great addition to our little hospitality series. So here are some “cleaning for hospitality” thoughts from my good friend Clara. Enjoy!

CLEANING TIPS

Someone once asked me what my cleaning schedule was. Uhh… “People are coming over!” Yes, I’ve been content with a relatively orderly home without a hard and fast cleaning schedule. Being able to live with dust may be hereditary – my mom and grandma were able to tolerate a little dust, although they fussed about it. When I can write “Do not dust – test panel” on my furniture I know it’s time to take action. (Or when my dear husband starts a sneezing fit.).

When my children were small I relied on checklists when preparing for company. I listed all that needed to be done in cleaning and making refreshments and as the children matured I delegated items to them and we made it a team effort in preparing for hospitality. Occasionally my check list method would let me down, like the time I was having small group leaders into our home for a meeting. Having madly cleaned and finished food preparation, I rushed upstairs to get myself ready (always leaving my personal grooming ‘til last – not good if people show up early and find me in my bedroom slippers as happened just this past week!). I took those necessary deep breaths and was able to welcome my guests with a smile. As we were sitting in the living room having our discussion, my attention was diverted by the end table lampshade which sported a round lacey cobweb floating lazily up and down in the heat!

Then there was the one and only time my older brother stayed overnight at our home. He came down in the morning carrying the bathroom fan cover, which was packed with dust and lint. I’m sure I had done the white glove test everywhere else in that bathroom! As you can see, it’s been necessary to add a few items to my cleaning checklist.

Here are some gems of cleaning advice I’ve learned from Titus 2 ladies in my church:

1. “What you can’t see from a galloping horse, don’t worry about.”

2. “If you’re coming to see me, come right over; if you’re coming to see my house, you’ll need to make an appointment.”

My final cleaning tip is to make sure you know where you are calling. As a young single, having just moved from one state to another, I was getting established with new doctors and dentist. I called my dentist and asked for an appointment for a check-up and cleaning. The receptionist put me on hold for a while. When she came back on the line she said, “Miss, just exactly what did you mean by a ‘cleaning’?” By the time she was done asking it had dawned on me that I had called not the dentist as I intended, but the gynecologist! I’m sure I made their day!