Someone I’ve known for more than a decade finally came to my home for the first time.
She was a work friend. Thoughtful. Kind. And genuinely pleased.
Her reaction made me smile:
“Wow. I expected the books… but not all this colour. All these flowers.”
It wasn’t judgment.
It was surprise – the good kind.
And it stayed with me.
🌼 A Gentle Realization
I’ve always worn colour. Bright dresses. Patterns that don’t whisper. None of this is new.
And yet, in a professional context, people tend to see a version of us. A functional one. The one we bring to meetings, deadlines, decisions, and responsibility.
So in her mind, I made sense as books.
What she hadn’t met yet was the rest.
Not because she wasn’t paying attention – but because work rarely invites the full picture.
🌈 What a Home Reveals
A home does something an office never does:
it quietly completes the story.
The colour, the flowers, the warmth – they weren’t a contradiction. They were context.
Books and colour.
Focus and joy.
Structure and softness.
Seeing all of it together can be unexpectedly moving – for the guest and for the host.
✨ The Lovely Part
What I appreciated most was her reaction.
She didn’t retreat or correct herself.
She simply smiled – pleasantly surprised.
And it reminded me of something worth remembering:
People don’t always misunderstand us.
Sometimes they just haven’t had the chance to see us fully yet.
When they do, and they’re open to it, that moment can be quietly lovely.
