totally stoked. I quickly did the research on best deals and asked others who had
pools what the best thing they did was and what they wished they had done. The
answers were consistent, so I felt we got the best deal we could. Then I thought,
How can I use this special addition to our home?
The Lord dropped an idea into
my head that children who had never learned to swim would likely jump at the
chance, so our “Little Swimmers” was born, and for ten years, we opened our
backyard up every Thursday, during the summers, to people of all ages. Part of
the inspiration was that I knew several kids who were afraid of swimming, and I
thought this might help. The amazing thing was that within a couple of weeks,
those kids were soon jumping off the diving board. What’s more, children who
were afraid of animals were soon hugging my dog. By the last couple years, we
were averaging about thirty-five people per week, sometimes up to sixty. I actually
had to hire a lifeguard or stay out by the pool all afternoon just to make sure
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everyone was safe in the water. When we would break for lunch, I would close the
pool cover. Safety came first. We had a snow cone machine, and my son, Nathan,
would make snow cones for the kids. I always appreciated teens coming to help.
It was a tiring day, but so worth it. Sometimes hospitality is shaved ice on a hot
summer day.
We enjoyed hosting our annual church picnic and usually had about 150 people
to dinner and pool party each summer. This took help from many people. I am
not great with details. I come up with the idea, and I am not a perfectionist, so I
need people in my life to make things happen. But guess what? There are people
who have a heart to help and are delighted to assist in making parties happen.
I could never have done any of these many things without all my dear friends
who helped. Every year, my close friend, Marsha, would come help weed my acre
and a half before the church picnic. Many times, her husband also came. They
are amazing friends. It wasn’t unusual for me, in the middle of a big happening
at our house, to walk a person down my driveway and visit or be off to the side,
talking or praying one on one with someone. Yet the helpers were keeping the
hospitality organized, and when I would walk into my kitchen, the “doers” would
be refilling trays and cleaning. I understand what Jesus meant about Mary, but
nothing would get done without the Marthas. I seriously believe that. I am more
of a Mary than a Martha most of the time, but I am so very thankful for the
Marthas in my life. I really think we need to be a combo of both. We first need to
listen to Jesus like Mary and be a doer like Martha. For without really listening to
Him, what good is serving?
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“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a certain village; and a
woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister
named Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s word, seated at His
feet. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up
to Him, and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all
the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said
to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;
but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the
good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:38–42)
One of the most fun things for outside parties was my cooler. I had a cooler on
a stand. I always had a sign on it saying, “Aunt Nicki’s Cooler.” I had small sodas,
juice and water bottles on ice. The kids all knew that they could each take a
special drink from “Aunt Nicki’s Cooler.” It warmed my heart when they’d run
up to me and politely ask if they could have a drink. Those kids have grown
bigger now but they will always be dear to my heart. We had inside events there
too and even built on an addition room to be able to have a larger room for
people to hang out. It was 28 by 28 feet with shelves on one side, a fireplace
on one end and surrounded by windows and French doors to the pool. It was a
great place to host events. I admit I loved sharing my yard the most because I
love being outside.
Sometimes we can do simple things for others. When our son, Nathan, was in high
school he wanted to invite a few friends over to swim on the last day of school. A
small group of about five of his friends came over. I quickly started grabbing things
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from my pantry. I dumped crackers into bowls, made popcorn, and found some
random cans of soda. I will never forget that one of the neighbor boys came inside,
saw these few snacks, and said, “You did all this for us?” Wow. It was such an easy
thing to do, but it’s also so easy to just say you don’t want to deal with it. I’m so
glad I just said yes. Little things make all the difference!
There are seasons to life, and becoming empty nesters brought changes to our
home. Three years ago, we decided to downsize since the kids were all grown
and we wanted to have a smaller yard. I did not embrace the idea at first, but
I was ready for the next adventure. For the past three years, we have lived in
the historical district in a home that was built in 1907. Being people who don’t
generally hire out work, we began the task of painting all the interior and redoing
several rooms. When we decided to remodel our master bath, it was quite the
project. I am so proud of my husband, Craig, and all his hard work. He did almost
all the work to renovate the bathroom from electrical to sheet rock to plumbing