We are gathered here today to recognise the passing of a tradition which potentially dates back to when humans first had a cave of their own … the visitor just “dropping in”.
Once upon a time, family and friends would turn up at your door on the flimsiest of excuses … in need of a cup of sugar perhaps, or just to share the latest gossip over a cup of tea. They were “just in the neighbourhood” and the welcome mat was always out. In fact many houses were even officially titled the “Do Drop Inn”, an ever-so-charming play on words.
When I lived on my own many years ago I loved these informal visits from friends or family members, it helped keep me sane!
But then I got married and shifted to the other side of town and people no longer just dropped in. I couldn’t blame them – it was an hour’s drive, too far to go on the off-chance we might actually be home.
Over time we made friends in our local area and started having people drop in once more. I must admit they weren’t always convenient but once somebody was at your door you couldn’t exactly turn them away, unless you (pretended?!) you were about to head out to another social engagement!
Life got busier and the drop ins decreased slowly, partly due to the rise of texting – at least this way we got advance warning that somebody was in the area and thinking of dropping in. This usually meant a crazy 10 minutes of scurrying around tidying up and making sure the house – and ourselves – looked presentable!
When a friend dropped in at 7am on a busy weekday morning, it seemed like an invasion of privacy and not exactly polite. I wondered if there should be such a thing as visiting hours for home and not just hospitals?!
For a long time pretty much the only drops in were from our kids after they flew the nest. But time goes by and they are busy with their own lives (we get it, that was us only yesterday I’m sure!) and we live so far out of town, don’t ya know?!
And it’s hard to just drop in on them, as our son and his wife live in an apartment which has a certain level of security.
Of course, the final death knell for the habit of dropping in was the lockdowns of the Covid era.
So here I am today, reflecting on the absence of drop ins in my life.
Personally? It doesn’t bother me really. No longer do we feel the need to keep the house immaculate at all times! We can relax, and our home truly is OUR sanctuary.
I’ve never been a fan of “entertaining“- in fact the word itself really grinds my gears!
Instead, these days I’d much rather catch up with friends for coffee. As somebody who works from home, it’s always nice to have a change of scenery – and there’s no pressure to have the house presentable, I can just relax and enjoy good company, conversation and coffee 🙂 .
Have you noticed the death of the drop in or is it just me?!
