If you are in the Wayne county area like I am, then you have probably heard about the large power outage. If you are as unfortunate as I am however, then you have not only heard about it, but have been affected by it. The power outage begun on this past Wednesday, and is being resolved by DTE as I write. Some in my neighborhood have already gotten power, others haven’t; my family and I have yet to receive power. Luckily my brother had invited us to his home for the weekend, just until the power comes back.

When my older brother had heard of our predicament on Thursday, he was eager to invite us to his home for the weekend. I will be honest, I was neither thrilled nor was I bothered by the thought of visiting my brother’s home. During the week of the power outage, I had been preparing for a chemistry exam on Friday. I was mildly stressed, and did not want to risk my sleep schedule by trying to sleep in a different home. So I felt that I needed to stay at my home in order to secure perfect health and rest for the exam; I did not want to come into the exam exhausted because I did not get a good night’s rest. When I had rejected my brother’s offer, he was downhearted. I could hear some sadness in his voice as he accepted the rejection. Needless to say, even though I had slept in the home I was “used” to I did not get a good night’s rest. I couldn’t stop thinking about how he had sounded and looked as I rejected his offer. I vowed that I would make an effort to spend the weekend at his house, after I had finished my exam on Friday; and so I did.

I was dropped off at my brother’s home, where I was greeted by warm yellow lights, a cramped -- but cozy -- kitchen, and the entirety of my family. I went to the basement to greet my older brother, as well as apologize for not accepting his offer to stay on Thursday. He accepted my apology as we exchanged hugs, but I couldn’t help but notice the tone of his voice. He sounded cheerful, unlike Thursday, and it had sparked a series of thoughts on the concept of visiting.

Previously, I did not take it the wrong way if someone does not visit me, nor did I feel that I was wrong of to not exchange visits. In my mind, these were both the same effort wise; however I realized the contrary as I was leaving the basement. It takes more effort to visit than it does to invite.

I believe that one can measure love through commitment. That is, the more effort one puts forth for their significant other or family member, the more love that person has for their significant other or family member. Consequently, visiting is more loving than inviting. When one visits another, they are showing their host that they are on their mind, that they matter to them, and that they will go out of their way to visit them. They will make time and perhaps even modify their schedule, in order to visit the other. This isn’t just effort, this is letting the other person know that he or she is on their (the visitor’s) mind or that they are more than just another person, and that they mean something.

It hurts when an invite is rejected, it hurts to know that the other person is not willing to visit. This is what I have come to understand, and this is what has changed me. Thus I resolve to visit my older brother, just as often as we invite him. There is happiness to share not only with the visitor, but with the host as well.