As the name of my blog indicates, I spend a lot of time thinking about home. Of course, my Heavenly Home is the one that is eternal, so that’s where I need to lay up my treasures, and that’s the one I’m striving for. But in the meantime, I have been given this tiny piece of the here-and-now—this home on the edge of town, this family, this neighborhood—in which to serve Him. And, though this is in the earthly realm, I want the things that happen here to be investments in the Heavenly realm.




Wednesday, October 24, 2012

{31 Days of Hospitality} Day 24 ~ "The Sorry Hostess"


To accompany yesterday's post...


The Sorry Hostess
by Edgar Guest  (1881-1959)


She said she was sorry the weather was bad
The night that she asked us to dine;
And she really appeared inexpressibly sad
Because she had hoped 'twould be fine.
She was sorry to hear that my wife had a cold,
And she almost shed tears over that,
And how sorry she was, she most feelingly told,
That the steam wasn't on in the flat.

She was sorry she hadn't asked others to come,
She might just as well have had eight;
She said she was downcast and terribly glum
Because her dear husband was late.
She apologized then for the home she was in,
For the state of the rugs and the chairs,
For the children who made such a horrible din,
And then for the squeak in the stairs.

When the dinner began she apologized twice
For the olives, because they were small;
She was certain the celery, too, wasn't nice,
And the soup didn't suit her at all.
She was sorry she couldn't get whitefish instead
Of the trout that the fishmonger sent,
But she hoped that we'd manage somehow to be fed,
Though her dinner was not what she meant.

She spoke her regrets for the salad, and then
Explained she was really much hurt,
And begged both our pardons again and again
For serving a skimpy dessert.
She was sorry for this and sorry for that,
Though there really was nothing to blame.
But I thought to myself as I put on my hat,
Perhaps she is sorry we came.






Doesn't this old poem put things in a different light?    

5 comments:

  1. Oh my! It shows a lot of things...one, it shows that the compulsion to be sorry and apologize goes back a long, long way.

    Did you know about the poem before you did your post or did you find it since? It's a marvelous companion to your thoughts that is for certain.

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  2. Vee, I came across this poem several years ago, and its message stayed with me. I'm afraid I saw a bit of myself in "the sorry hostess." Those ideas were confirmed as I later read others' thoughts on apologizing as it related to hostessing...and as I took note of it in myself and in others.

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  3. I can see why it stayed with you! Oh, I meant to tell you how lovely and bright your new header is! Love it!!

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  4. I agree with Vee about your header!

    This poem is a real challenge to us all. We sometimes are so focused on how we wanted things to be, that we forget our guests don't notice that certain things aren't right, etc.

    I wonder at our need to apologize in this circumstances. Why isn't what we have just fine? Makes me think of Vee's John in her video this morning...'it's just right for anybody!'

    I am reminded of a story Emilie Barnes tells of having a very wealthy couple over for dinner, and for some reason, they sat in the living room on the floor at the coffee table, eating soup and salad and bread in front of the fire. How she worried that is wasn't up to their standards, and yet they LOVED it!

    Lots of good food for thought in your excellent posts, Cheryl!

    Deanna

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  5. Cheryl,
    Great poem. Reminds me of someone..seeing this in action was a lesson to me.
    Yes, your header is terrific.
    Now I want a home tour.

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