If You Want Me to Feel Comfy. . .

THINGS THAT MAKE ME FEEL COMFORTABLE/AT HOME AWAY FROM HOME

• Couches that face each other
• Enough places to sit for everyone
• Food brought to me on a plate
• Someone making a point to sit near ME
• A place set for me at the table--even if it's a card table
• Any kind of cake or cookies set out, and a place to sit to eat them (my grandma E's old metal kitchen table with the red top always had things on it against the wall, but you were always welcome to come in and sit while she and others worked to eat a fig newton)
• Being told by someone who means it to get whatever you want out of the kitchen
• More than enough pillows & at least one extra blanket
• Households that keep all kinds of pain relievers--aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen
• Warm hugs hello, goodbye, and sometimes in between

THINGS THAT MAKE ME FEEL UNWELCOME

• All the seats taken--no place to sit (especially if the seats are taken by the people who live there--not by other guests)
• People lying on furniture when there are already not enough places to sit
• Tiny towels that don't come close to wrapping around your body
• "See-through" towels
• Reusable plastic cups that are scratched up from being in the dishwasher so much (I don't mean disposable ones.)
• Small portions of food for a big crowd
• People watching TV in the room where people are visiting
• People who keep complaining about their lack of funds, using it as an excuse not to be hospitable
• Whispering