@Laura2592
Nice post!
Too many fave guests to choose just one, and I do keep in touch periodically with dozens of them, while many others have become dear friends.
From now till Christmas though, I'm the stand-in mom for 3 lovely young American ladies, all daughters of three separate families that have stayed with me at some point over the past few years, who are now back in Dublin universities studying for the semester. I doubt very much that I'll hear a whole lot from any of them while they're here - they'll be far too busy having fun with their new friends on campus and enjoying their first ever solo trips away from home to be checking in with me - but at least their real moms can comfort themselves in the knowledge that if their daughters do ever find themselves in a spot of bother, myself and my wonderful driver Robbie will be there for them, if ever and whenever they need us.
The girls don't know each other and have never met, and all three come from very different families, and very different backgounds. One girl's dad is a director with one of the world's leading private equity firms, and they're from California. The second girl's family are decent, hardworking (and hilariously funny!) farmers from the wilds of Ohio, whose place is so remote that they have to meet the local delivery guy at a graveyard, a halfway point about 7 miles down the road, whenever they order a pizza! And the last girl is from a down-to-earth Irish-American clan out of Conneticut, whose granny Laura took up interior design as a brand new career at the age of 64 (after a lifetime in public service), and now in her 70s, is in huge demand in the glittering homes of the movers and shakers of Manhattan. Go Laura!
I've invited the girls over for dinner next week, so I can introduce them and let them get to know each other. As divergent as their backgrounds may be, they're all adorable, and I've a feeling the three of them will get along like a house on fire. Well, I hope so, anyway - who knows, it may even be the start of a beautiful friendship for them 🙂
@Emiel1 is so right - genuine, organic hospitality is about so much more than perfectly starched linens, plush velvet sofas and shiny, speck-free surfaces. 😉