Meatball Friday

So we've got this new thing we do. It was inspired by this article, and the premise is pretty simple. You have people over every Friday and have spaghetti and meatballs together.
We like to call it:

Brilliant right?
I'm not sure why something as simple and straightforward as having your friends over for spaghetti feels so groundbreaking. But Kent and I are convinced that we were made to do this, and that we are going to go ahead and let it change our lives.
The real spark of brilliance in the whole thing is the steady weekly rhythm. You have spaghetti meatballs, always spaghetti meatballs. Always Friday.
Because how many times do you say to your spouse, "We really should have so and so over for dinner".
And by the time you start to think about what you might make, or when, the whole concept takes on this sort of mammoth quality. It's get's complicated, and too much, and the line "We really should have so and so over for dinner" slips off into the void for exactly one week, before it presents itself to you once again, via your spouse.
Basically Meatball Friday just takes thinking out of the equation, and leaves the friends and dinner.
And simplicity is so key here. We are attempting to do this until, well Kent says until the earth runs out of beef. But we've got to keep it sustainable, or I'll probably burn out in 2 months.
Which means chilling the heck out.
Don't worry, I'm growing in this.
I love to entertain so much, but sometimes it can be like a crazy, rib cracking, bear hug kind of love.
And I use that frenzied love for pulling off things like Thanksgiving, The Christmas Concert, and birthdays. But I can't bear hug Meatball Fridays. Ain't no way I've got the muscle for that. (Wow, are you still following this?)
So this means: Taking it easy on the cleaning beforehand*. No getting distracted from the essentials. Spaghetti and Meatballs. That's it. Friends bring the sides and wine. We put on a jazz record.
Because it's all about the gathering.
I love the idea, that in the many months ahead, with all the variety that comes with any given week, that there will be a constant.
Friends crowded around our table as we hash out our weeks, kids with red faces, spaghetti and meatballs.



*This one's going to be tough. I definitely got carried away with the cleaning today. On the one hand, it's great to have a reason to tighten up a bit around the house...it needed it. But, there was definitely a point late this afternoon where if I didn't stop, drop, and stare at my phone, I was in danger of hating Fridays and its insufferable meatballs forever and ever...and ever.