Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Be honest....

Okay, let me set up the scenario...

You get the kids up.
Keep them busy while you get yourself presentable today.
Get breakfast made and down the kids' hatches.
Bundle them up.
Get out the door.
Do a Target shop.
Run home and throw it into the house...putting the cold stuff into the fridge.
Then head to a MOMS Club meeting.

I have been a member of MOMS club since staying home with my boys.  It has been a wonderful way to meet moms and children.  It offers entertainment that is affordable, free, and fun!  Love it!  Haven't been to much lately due to the ages of the boys and other commitments (preschool, library, ecfe, etc.) 

Today they had the monthly member meeting (No one ever goes except the board - I know this because I was on the board last year.)  This month they were getting people to come by offering a speaker experience.  She was going to tell how she saves money and feeds her family for only $400 a month!  LOVE IT!  So I showed up at the church that usually houses our meetings and the parking lot had quite a few cars there.  But everyone was still in their cars.  The church was locked.  We were locked out.  So we had to find a place to have the meeting...and the speaker - it wasn't like we could reschedule.

So a friend, we'll call her Jessie, volunteered to host it at her house.  Keep in mind this is only 9:30 am!  Everyone said great and headed to her house...possibly arriving before she did!

COULD YOU DO THIS?  When you leave the house in the morning do you think...I might have to host over 20 moms and children...maybe I should----

wipe up the spilled cereal and toast crumbs

          empty the dishwasher that ran the night before,

so you could put the dinner dishes and breakfast dishes away.

Do you have your boys put their clothes in the hamper...since they got dressed in the entry way...due to the rush of trying to do too much before 9:30am.

Are toys picked up so that 15 kids can find a space of their own to keep busy...

             while 15 moms sit around and try to absorb good information that brought them out on this FREEZING MORNING!?

I DO NOT consider this possibility.  

I did not go to her house because I couldn't imagine being in her position.  I could not even imagine it.  And after getting home from our morning out and about the reality sunk in and sat heavy in my stomach.  I COULD NOT have done what she did...because everything I mentioned in the last paragraph....
  • the toast crumbs
  • the spilled milk
  • the cereal spoon on the floor
  • the dinner dishes out and all over
  • toys not put away
  • last nights pjs laying in the entry way
  • a dirty (just pee) diaper wrapped up and sitting next to the pjs
  • a toilet that needed flushing (does anyone else have this issue with their little boy)
And the list can go on.  Maybe this friend would say she spent yesterday cleaning or having someone else clean...it doesn't matter.  It isn't the deep cleaning that I have even started to think about... I am just talking about the morning tornado that happens when you have to get out of the house and get somewhere at a specific time.

I am just saying..

I.  COULD. NOT. HAVE. DONE. WHAT. SHE. DID.

And for that - she deserves a huge hug...and an afternoon to herself....and a moment to breathe.  And I am helping give that to her.  Love you....we'll just call you Jessie - You AMAZE me!

So be honest...do you leave your house each day ....ready to host.... I can proudly say...no!

7 comments:

The Gardiner Family said...

Your so funny....This morning was good for me to host. I hesitate about hosting larger groups b/c I stress out and today was perfect b/c it happened so quickly. As a bonus I had time to pick up the morning tornado this morning. My dirty dishes were contained to one sink...most days they line up to the stove. :) So it was good, and fun and the speaker was so great!

I hope my girls are being good for you! What a nice, unexpected treat to have them at a playdate. I am getting a ton done and doing it at a relaxing speed. :)

BTW, 8 out of 10 days my house doesn't look presentable in the morning, or afternoon or evening for that matter.

Nic said...

Oh Sister...That would be a big fat NO!! I couldn't imagine spur of the moment hosting. I should be ashamed. "Jessie" cheers to you =)

Anonymous said...

NO WAY!!! if i know anyone is coming over it takes me a WEEK at least to get ready. haha!!! RR

Anonymous said...

my thoughts:
1. raina--you lie, cause you've gotten comfortable having ME over in your REAL live, lived in, clothes hanging up in the living room glory! and i LOVE THAT about us!
2. let's just say i didn't work and had this opportunity. 15 moms would, if invited, and i'm NOT saying i would invite them.....find: 1-3 potty diapers laying around, jammies who knows where, random stuff all over dining room table, dishes in the sink and prolly on the counter, toys in the middle of the floor, powerwheels car in the middle of some room, perhaps a baby fork on the kitchen floor AND the always amazing gift of potential cat puke ANYWHERE, ANYTIME.
pw

Messy and Wonderful said...

Presentable? No.

Real? Yes.

I might agree to it if it was the right group of women who might just be blessed by knowing that I don't have my act together and they don't need to either.

I have all of those things you listed, but if those women walked in my house, my gut tells me that they would overlook a little, help a little - and breathe a little sigh of relief.

The messes are CONSTANT!

For the Love of Naps - Sarah said...

VERY TRUE! In a World Surrounded....These women are amazing and are so supportive. For me it was the size of group on top of the chaotic mess that I left behind this morning in my own house and those two things together made the whole thing amazing to me. Groups that size of moms and kids are overwhelming to me in itself...add to that the hosting element and I just don't relax. I give "Jessie" so much credit for stepping up and saving the day!

Carrie said...

Hehe... somedays yes, somedays no! The question becomes, 'Would I REMEMBER whether or not it was a good day when offering??'

And yes, my little boy is now SEVEN and we still struggle with flushing. :)

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