Dear Mom, How Do I Host?
It’s not about centerpieces or seating charts.
It’s about the social moments we don’t have language for.
When to say yes.
When to stay home.
How to recover from a misstep.
How to stop performing.
How to host a life that actually feels like yours.
I’ve spent years hosting, watching, paying attention, and learning—mostly by doing things the wrong way first. Dear Mom grew out of those moments. The small realizations that arrive late. The clarity that comes only after you’ve replayed a conversation in your head one too many times. The relief of realizing that ease is a skill, and it can be practiced.
Dear Mom: How Do I Host? is a place for the questions we ask quietly—usually after the guests have gone home, the dishes are done, and we’re standing alone in the kitchen wondering why something felt off.
Dear Mom is for people who care—sometimes too much.
People who love to gather but don’t always feel at ease socially.
People who want things to feel beautiful, but also true.
The questions that come in are rarely about logistics. They’re about self-trust. Belonging. Boundaries. Confidence. What we owe others—and what we don’t. Hosting, here, is a lens. A way of understanding how we move through rooms, relationships, and seasons of life.
You might start here:
Dear Mom is part of Truitt House Living—a broader exploration of how the way we gather, host, and show up for one another shapes a meaningful life.
New Dear Mom essays appear regularly across print and digital publications, and continue privately on Substack. Readers are always welcome to write in.