Our social schedule has been busy, what with bocce, birthday parties, more birthday parties and the unscheduled drop-in.

Piles of shoes don’t get put away,
lots of dishes in the sink,
a diaper bag plundering.

I did tell you that we love to drop in on each other, didn’t I?

I used to think that only happened on television — Dylan stops over just as I’m making out with Brandon! Bummer! — but the small town we live in celebrates it. Hooray! A drop-in!

And if it’s not welcome, you just say, “It’s not a good time.”
No harm, no foul.

Your community most likely has different guidelines.
Your friends would be pissed.
But here, here, we embrace the delight with an unexpected guest.
(And more often than not we’re ready for them.)

My brokey unexpected guest preparation checklist

1. Sparkling water (could be club soda).
2. Iced tea in the fridge.
3. An emergency container filled with dark chocolate, dried fruit, almonds and shortbread cookies.
   (My emergency guest container has been filled over time.)
4. Oranges in the fridge.
5. A mint plant.
6. A willingness to set aside my to-do list.

The last one is the most important to me.
My friends are big gifts.
I’m always thrilled when gifts arrive on the porch.

Mix the above items to serve iced tea with mint.
Serve cool orange slices with bubbly water and shortbread cookies.
Make chocolate bark by melting the dark chocolate and stirring in dried blueberries and almonds.
Nom.

By the way, the brokey part of that is that I’ve collected these items over time.