I remember clearly from my childhood family and friends that were notorious for the early Saturday morning drop by. On some occasions I still laugh thinking of my mom in her pink plush robe racing to get put together from the moment an unexpected car pulled up, until the doorbell rang. The water would be put on, tea would be poured, a fresh hard roll would be buttered, and conversation would roll like thunder, for hours.
I definitely joke with my friends about random drop by's being a lost part of our culture. We've become much more accustomed to scheduling, which I don't have a problem with. I feel nostalgic for drop by's, I don't quite know why. Recently I was driving with a carload of my friends to celebrate a birthday, when one of our friends said, "yeah my house is the fifth in from the corner drop by anytime". I quickly joked back, "now you know the drop by is extinct don't you". We all laughed. In some ways it's true and in others the drop by is not extinct.
We can bring the drop by back.
But what does this mean for me? If I am notorious for having a messy house through out the day. Sometimes the day spills into night and even the next day. I can't quite explain it. I love a well kept home, but I have to admit I am not neurotic about keeping my house immaculate. It's a work in progress. A notion I better take seriously if I am inviting my friends to just drop on by.
After I wrote a post in April about friendships, I've actually had an influx of drop by's. I think just putting out the idea to people, letting them know it's okay to come by and visit changes people's feelings about always scheduling in advance. One of my friends called me at 8:30 one night, after our hellos, she said oh and I'm sitting out front can I come in? I made a pot of tea and we ate Italian cookies. Just the other night, I convinced a friend to get ice cream with me at 8:15pm, on a whim (well it was a fundraiser). She indulged me, with her sweaty work out clothes and all. Yeah, us!
I know we can bring the drop by back!
For me, I have to work on keeping the house presentable (not immaculate). Oh and a good batch of sun tea in the refrigerator. Maybe even some special cookies in the cabinet above the refrigerator to share during a drop by visit. Doesn't it feel fun, the notion of being out and about, in the neighborhood of a friend and just popping in for a glass of tea?
Let movement start friends, don't let drop by's become extinct.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
I love it!
I highly encourage drop-bys, but no one ever takes me seriously.
I wish they would.
I'm from the south and we always did the drop by. My mom was always mortified, but we always did it. Of course, this was before cell phones so I could warn them. I totally miss the drop by's. I can't wait until I know more people in Denver that will actually drop by. There is one neighbor a few houses down that has dropped by a few times with her son to randomly play & I can't say how much I loved it!
we did the drop by so much back home, i miss that, although i feel i am barely home if anyone did drop by. Thanks for the cookies!
I love the idea. My house is never immaculate either - my best attempt is to keep it sort-of-presentable. Only thing is I'm so accustomed to people calling before they come (like, a week before), I think I might be a little freaked. Still love the idea though.
I think women in general worry too much about the house looking immaculate. Everyone knows you are hiding all the dirty laundry upstairs, so why even bother!
I love what you've written here. The only people that drop by my place are the missionaries.
The drop-by is still VERY much alive and well here in S.L.! It does mean keeping up with things, though. I hate to feel embarassed by my house so I just try to be prepared. You never know when someone is going to show up. It's a good thing -I like it.
I just imagined someone dropping by on us right now and cringed. But you're right--it used to be fun to just have people stop on by. I don't even drop in on my parents anymore.
I think that it's Martha Stewart's fault. (everything is) Because most people don't live in immaculate houses, yet we somehow feel like we need to. If we weren't so worried about our friends judging our messes, we'd let them in, or stop by.
Love this post, and so true... I would hate unexpected drop-ins because I'd worry about the state of my house, too - with two little ones, it's always more messy than I'd like! But unexpected visits from friends are lovely, aren't they?
This is a movement I could get on board!
We are all about the drop bys! Our friends totally take us up on it...with beer and wine in hand, natch. If you're ever in Raleigh, drop on by. If you'll be at Blogher, drop by my room any time!
I would love it if people did this more. - MH
That is an AWESOME idea. I'm so implementing it in my life!
I love it. Definitely going to join in on this one. Especially when I have my own house and not just my apartment anymore. (because I'll be married then and I may actually stand a chance of being home!)
Post a Comment