The other day I opened my home to a lady that I hadn’t met.
I had been challenged to open my home to others to bless them and I decided to randomly allow this lady into my home.
The moment she entered the front door she was warmly greeted by Esther and Magdalene. My dog Bentley excitedly jumped at her feet, with his tail wagging faster than a whipper snipper. She kicked him to the side where he whimpered and limped back to his mat.
The lady smiled slightly and looked my girls up and down. Her eyes turned to me and Phoebe. Phoebe was attached to my hip and her eyes roamed from Phoebe’s face to my hips and then they rested on my tummy. It jutted out a bit too much for my liking, and her stare told me she agreed with me.
I led her down the hallway into the kitchen and living area and I noticed her scanning the state of my living room. There were Duplo blocks spread from one side of the living room to the other. Food crumbs on the coffee table that Bentley obviously hadn’t noticed to lick. Phoebe’s play mat was strewn with baby toys and there was wet arrowroot biscuit matted into the fabric.
‘What kind of role model are you to other mothers when you can’t keep your house tidy for a visitor?’ She exclaimed.
Her negativity didn’t bother me because I had come to accept the season I was in with little children and I had read somewhere that a messy house meant happy kids. And my kids were happy.
Esther pulled on the lady’s arm and asked if she would like to see her room. ‘If it’s in the state of this living room, no, you little sh*t.’
I was taken aback by the ladies words. What was her problem and who was she to speak to my daughter like that in my own home?
‘I’m sorry, but don’t speak to my daughter like that. You had no right to say that to her.’ I stuttered.
She replied, ‘But I have every right. You invited me in. I don’t like what I see and I should be able to tell you how I feel. If you don’t like it then, close your home and don’t invite people in.’
Not one to want to stir up further trouble, I settled Magdalene and Esther down at the coffee table with some pencils and paper to draw. I placed Phoebe in her walker while I went to make a cup of tea for my guest to help her calm down a little.
Everything I offered her was wrong. The tea was too strong so I made another cup and that one was too weak. The slice I baked wasn’t made from organic eggs and she didn’t want a bar of it. And why was I cooking unhealthy slice when my bum was twice the size of Beyoncé’s? I wanted to joke to her that it was triple the size of Beyoncé’s but I didn’t want to give her more ammunition to berate me.
My life and my home were stripped apart from her words and her stare. Everything I loved and believed in was abhorrent to her and she made me know and feel it so.
The moment she left, she turned around and asked me ‘So let’s do this again next week shall we?’
I smiled and nodded, thinking no way. I needed to block her calls from my phone and delete her mobile number.
Once she left, I locked the front door.
I escorted my girls into the living room where we played a little and tried to move on from the negative atmosphere the lady tried to infiltrate our home.
What may read as a shocking morning with a stranger is a common and daily occurrence on the internet.
Us bloggers open up a space and set up a home on the internet freely sharing our space with others, only to have one or two or even a few visitors decide it’s their right to leave a string of abuse or negativity to our flourishing home.
You are most welcome to visit our home, any home. But it’s not your right to leave negative comments or bring the owner of that home down. It’s an absolute privilege to be given a voice to comment so please use that wisely. Or else next time, you will find that your voice will be blocked and there will be no point for you to visit our open home.
How do you handle negativity on your blog or website? Ever entertained someone rude in your home?
I’m linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT.
