One of my guilty pleasures in life is to watch the silly, very dramatic, Army Wives on Lifetime.
Last episode it unveiled a plot that had a main character having to plan a last minute BBQ for her husband’s work crew. And she was kicking and screaming the entire time. She works a full time job, she is a mother of two, her house is a mess, and the BBQ would be in less than a week! There was no way this was going to happen.
But, even through her kicking and screaming, in fact, the BBQ was going to happen, like it or not.
Ha ha. I get a chuckle out of this because I have been in her place many times in my life, and lots of those times, in my marriage. My husband would come home and I would be ready for bed and he would go, “Oh honey, by the way” – ugh – by the way – the worst phrase to come out of his mouth right before bed time.
But, being the domestic diva that I am, I have learned to adapt. I have learned how to be the wonderful domestic diva that every woman strives for! (Well, at least I try!)
The secret?
Plan ahead. Figure out what may come at you unexpectedly and be prepared for it.
You know that your husband’s job may require you to host a BBQ at the last minute? Plan ahead. Buy invitations next time you are at the market and store them away, and why not stash enough stamps too for postage? Put in your cook book a BBQ party sheet for “x” amount of guests and include a shopping list. Buy party plates and napkins on sale and stash those away too. Plan ahead. Do all the work you can ahead of time.
In my life, I don’t necessarily have to plan last minute BBQs, but I do have to plan for overnight guests last minute. So guess what? I have planned ahead! I have made a space in my guest room closet to store extra bed sheets, pillows, extra blankets, clean bath towels, extra toiletry items, and water bottles. Now everytime we have an unexpected guest, I am zero to five minutes to accommodating them. Why? Say it with me, because I have planned ahead.
Another last minute “domestic diva” issue that arises a lot in my own life is nurturing the sick and nurturing families who have suffered a death in their family. Nothing more unexpected than that, wouldn’t you say? Before I found this secret of planning ahead to be a domestic diva, I was like a chicken with my head cut off when someone I cared for became very ill or a person would pass away. I couldn’t find time in my busy day to nurture that person or that family. And then what happened? I ended up doing nothing, because I was too stressed out over what I was going to do for them and when I was going to fit it all in. So now I am prepared. I have get well cards and sympathy cards at the ready (and extra stamps next to them just in case!). I have cake mixes and frosting and disposable pans stocked in my pantry to make quickly and to get out quickly. I have a frozen lasagna and frozen garlic bread in my freezer (which I bought at the store on sale – didn’t make!) for those times when I want to bring a dinner over to a sick person – either frozen, as is, or I would bake it for them and then take over.
Being a domestic diva is not for the faint of heart. It takes work. It takes time. It takes – planning ahead!
