Tuesday Evening Get Together

A month or two ago I though it would be a good idea to open our house over the summer on Tuesday evenings for our neighbors to come over. Nothing set, nothing formal, just bring your own meat/main course and something to share. We'll provide the house and the grill, so come when you can. It's not an original idea - some friends of ours back in California did this for a summer when Brandon was about a year and half. I can't remember if it had happened the previous year, or even happened the next summer, but I remember the summer we attended very well. Their house was uniquely set up for such a fun gathering. They had an L-shaped back yard with a pool at one end, and the rest of the back yard at the other. They had set pool times, and around 6:00 the pool was closed off, and everyone convened in the back yard for food. It was fun, and we went when we could.

Last night was the first night at our house.

It was fun. Two of my neighbors came over, along with another friend. In total we had 7 adults and 5 kids. We had our gas grill all fired up, and chairs everywhere. The kids were thrilled to have playmates over. Two other neighbors couldn't make it due to other commitments, but said that their families would be here next week. I'm sure we all ate too many chips, and my basement is a kid-game disaster, but it was worth it.

Community has been hard to come by in these here parts. I'm sure you're all tired of my rants, but it's been true. I met up with a friend of mine yesterday at our local pool, and she said the same thing. She's been here almost three years. We hardly ever get together because of her work schedule, but plan on doing more this summer while she's off. She was happy to gather up her family for a spur of the moment open grill night at my house. That's a nice feeling. Neither one of us has any great desire to hang out at home by ourselves, so this is a perfect way to combat that issue. Originally, I'd thought that opening up my house would be a fun way to get my neighbors together, but now I'm seeing it as an open house for other friends as well. I hope they can see this as a very informal way to hang out, eat, and share a fun time with others.

So, if you're reading this and you're in Colorado, feel free to come hang out next Tuesday evening at my place. The grill will be hot, the drinks will be cold, and the house is fairly childproof. See you here!