Visitors

     I'm expecting visitors this month.  Three out of the four weeks, I'll be hosting company.  I enjoy having people visit me.  I'm gratified that they like our home enough to come and spend prolonged periods of time.
     It's family members who are coming this time, and I like that we can spend time together for a change, instead of at least four-hundred-some miles, if not a whole country, apart, keeping tabs perodically via Facebook and email.  There's nothing like being together all day, every day, doing all the little things one normally does on a typical day, getting to know one another all over again.
     Sally will be the first to arrive.  She's my niece, my husband's sister's daughter, and she's 13 years old.  They live in Florida, the other side of the country, and it's been 3 years since we've seen her (can it really be that long?)  The last time she was here, I was recovering from a pelvic fracture and was just starting to ride my horses again.  Sally loves to ride, but I wasn't in much shape to put her on a horse then.  This time, she'll have lots of opportunities, as we're on the horses almost daily and take them to gymkhanas and playdays almost every weekend.   Sally and Kaela are only a year and a half apart, and they have a great time together, for which I am profoundly grateful, because things were not always so.  When they were very small, we took Kaela for a visit to Florida and the two of them fought almost constantly, making the entire visit very stressful, to say the least.  Whatever that was all about, I'm so glad they outgrew it.
     Just a day or two after Sally leaves, Kaela's mom, my daughter, Jenny, arrives.  Kaela's very excited that we're going to the midnight premiere of the new Hunger Games movie the day her mom arrives.  She read all three of the series of books in just two days, and insisted that her mom buy and read them before she came to see the movie with us.  I'm looking forward to Jenny's visit especially because of some recent changes in her life, but that's a whole 'nother blog.  Jenny lives in Portland, along with three of her siblings and their families, and a funny thing about my Oregon kids is that they have to go to In-N-Out Burger whenever they come to Redding, because there are none of that particular restaurant chain in Oregon.  It's a tradition.  Jenny wants us to meet her at In-N-Out as soon as she gets to Redding.  I'm glad she's given us plenty of warning; now I can be sure to not eat for 24 hours prior so I'll be able to hold an entire burger and fries.  I love their fries, but I only eat at In-N-Out when my Oregon kids visit.
      The very day that Jenny plans to return to Portland, my oldest daughter, Jaime, plans to drive down from Troutdale, a suburb of Portland.  That will make 2 weeks in a row I'll get to eat at In-N-Out.  Jaime and Jenny will be passing one another out on Interstate 5.  I wish my daughters could have planned to be here together, and yet I'm glad to see them one-at-a-time, too.  Jaime will bring her three children, my adorable grandchildren, Sage, Colin and Sean.  She has timed her visits more than once to allow her to be here for Sage's birthday, which falls during the kids's summer school break.  Colin has wished that he could have his birthday at Grammy's, too, so this time we'll have a birthday party for Colin, even though his birthday is not in March at all, but the third of May.  We're inviting family who also have boys around Colin's age, but keeping it a small party.  Sometimes small is actually more fun.  We'll have all the crucial elements:  good food, games, cake, ice cream and a pinata.  We'll make some happy memories for Colin and everyone else to treasure for the rest of their lives.  That's what it's all about.
     I like having visitors so much that I sometimes think I'd like to host company for a living, as in opening a guest ranch.  I fantasize about putting up a little guest house and owning a few calm, good horses, so that city families could come spend a weekend at the ranch.  It's only a few steps farther on from what I'm already doing a lot of the time, so it's easy to plan how I'd accomplish such a goal.  Just a little research, and maybe . . .
     It's nice to always have a dream or two in the closet.