LoveFeast Pumpkins

Awhile back, I wrote a post about inviting neighbor ladies to my home for a luncheon. And today’s post is about steering lunch party conversation in a positive direction!

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I’m so glad I branched out and made the invite, because it not only made me feel safer in my neighborhood, it made me feel like if I ever needed anything, I could ask for help. And that I’ve (we’ve) done many times with our neighbors, and helped them in return. Like eggs and flour … all the time. :) We are blessed.

It also introduced me to some wonderful friendships.

But now it’s time for a true confession: During that luncheon, there was one neighbor who dominated the conversation. In a way that was very rude, annoying, and I believe was making my guests uncomfortable. It sure was making me squirm in my chair.

Keeping Positive Conversation around the Table

Ouch! Why couldn’t it just have been a nice, simple, lovely lunch party?

That’s when one of my older, wiser neighbors stepped in and helped me out.

After eye contact with each other, we both knew that something needed to be done before the conversation went from negative to more negative. I think we’ve all  been there when that has happened. Not fun.

This older, wiser neighbor graciously spoke up, changed the subject, and helped me move the conversation on.

Yes! Whew! Relief!

LoveFeast Pumpkins

Now, years later, I’m thankful I’ve learned as a hostess that it’s okay to be assertive and to jump in and switch things up a bit.

With different personalities, it’s a given that these things will sometimes happen around our lunch and dinner tables, but being the wiser, it’s up to us to not let one person spoil the time for everyone else.

Grace and freedom and love – a good amount of all three is what’s needed.

So in my case, the next year I hosted, I decided to not invite this neighbor into my home. This didn’t make her a bad person, just an inappropriate person for what I was trying to accomplish (provide a positive environment for some of my elderly neighbors over good food).

Have you experienced this type of situation, and how did you handle it?

Want some of these soft cuddly pumpkins (photos above)? You can buy them from LoveFeast Table. They are adorable and so fun for autumn entertaining!