Well, if you know me, you know that I am not one who likes surprises. Or unexpected outcomes. Or last minute changes to plans that could have been made before hand. Or being rushed.
Maybe that's the reason why I stopped watching those stupid reality dating shows on tv. You can NEVER predict the winners. Believe me, I have tried!
Yesterday was just like any other day. Had to work. Had a blast with all the teenagers at youth groups. (My boss was gone.)
Then my husband gets a call two hours before I am finished with work (he goes with me to youth groups) from his brother saying that he, his wife, his 4-year old daughter, and my mother-in-law where in route to our house.
ETA, half an hour.
Now, this probably wouldn't bug an ordinary person. But I went into freak out mode!
My niece has some pretty bad allergies to food and her parents are germ freaks.
So, here we are - peanut eating, milk drinking people with five pets who all live inside the house not outside - we have a problem.
Needless to say, when we know they are coming, we spend at least two days prepping for their arrival. You know, washing plates that my niece will use, preparing food for her to eat without getting a reaction, leaving our three cats in the sun room outside so we can vacuum their hair off the couches, etc.
And, on top of all of that, I HATE surprises - and I had no time to do a "dry run" cleaning before they arrived because I was at work.
And they had a house key.
So instead of waiting for us somewhere, they were going to wait for us, at our house. The way I left it in a mad dash before work that morning.
Oh, please, good Lord above, let this be the one time I actually put my undies in the hamper....
Needless to say, after my husband got the news, I was pissed.
Not how I wanted to spend my night after working all day. And my house was a disaster. I wasn't expecting company...especially not THIS company!
Well, fast forward two hours and we drive home from church.
We get inside the house and we find my husband's family, all five of them, all crowded in my sister-in-laws bedroom eating chicken.
Why you ask?
Because they felt that that was the cleanest place in my house to eat.
Ya.
My level of pissed-off-ness, went off the charts.
How embarrassing.
I am the hostess with the mostest, and this is not acceptable in my house with company.
So, my husband and I do a quick clean of the kitchen (and really the kitchen is the cleanest room in my house at all times anyway) and we move the crowd to the appropriate room for eating after much tempting.
So, where if this "unplanned joy" you ask?
Well, I am slowly getting there...
But, after I calmed down from this experience, and the shock, and the frustration, and the embarrassment, I actually started having a great time.
I love my niece.
And being able to spend time with her is great.
After dinner we got the dogs out and she started playing with them. And our three-legged dog Trinity, our niece has never met before, so that was really fun to watch them two interact with each other. And boy does our niece LOVE Trinity. (But, I mean, who wouldn't, she is my kid!)
The original plan from my mother-in-law was that they all were going to spend the night at my house before heading back home the next morning. (Which added fuel to my fire - I wasn't ready for overnight guests!!) But thankfully, they decided to head home that night.
What I learned from this experience was
1) Always expect the unexpected in regards to my husband's family, regardless if I like it or not,
2) I should relax when things don't shape up the way I want them too, there's no harm in a little cat hair on the couches, we live like that everyday,
And, 3) Don't let your frustrations hinder you from finding joy in the pissiest of situations. (Few four year olds can do that, might I add!)
