Routine Visitors

I have a friend who used to live in a very small apartment, but had visitors on a regular basis. She didn't mind the extra people, and as a person who knew all sorts of interesting city places, she was able to entertain visitors from anywhere. And she always seemed to have the time and energy to adjust her routine to add the visitors to her daily life.
 
My friend no longer lives in that small apartment, and when in New York, she is now the guest (though she could still teach me a lot about where to go here). Sometimes I get to see her when she visits. Sometimes life just gets in the way.
 
I often wish I could be the kind of person she was when she was in that small apartment here--able to pause my daily life to devote myself to entertaining visitors. Able to know all the best places to go and the best combination of things to do to make the most of a visit, long or short. Yet, I find that my daily life is hard to pause. Perhaps it is that I am surrounded by children with commitments. Perhaps routine creates a security that is hard to give up.
 
It's interesting that a person like me, who has always flown by the seat of my pants, would find security in routine. After all, wasn't I the person who had no sleeping and eating schedule for my kids when they were babies? Wasn't I the person who ended up with kids in three schools because it worked out that way (and I refused to force it to be simpler)? Aren't I the person who is constantly adding activities for us to juggle?
 
Routines are one of our ways to cope in a world that changes daily. While I might not be able to pause life completely, visitors are a reminder that it's okay to give up routine-and the security of routine--once in a while. Visitors (and my friend must have known this) provide us with a new perspective that trumps daily security. They allow us to see our daily world through different eyes, even just for a moment, and they are worth pausing the routine for.
 
And while I may not want an apartment of wall to wall people, as my friend used to have in her small apartment, I will try to remember that the next time visitors come.