I don't get it

It all started with a phone call this afternoon from son number two. The call came around 2:00 P.M. He was in Delta picking up his kids and wanted to know if I would be home since he was coming to Richfield. I was delighted at his unexpected visit and got busy getting things ready.

When I have guests, and my children are now "guests" when they visit, my husband thinks I go overboard with cleaning. I don't. I just think people will have a happier experience if they have clean bedding to sleep in, clean towels, and food to eat. Since the house elf ran away long ago, I'm the one who washes the sheets, blankets, towels, etc. I'm also the one who makes the beds. In others words, I'm the one who does all the cleaning. That takes a bit of doing for three people sleeping in three different beds in three different rooms. Since I have been busy with art projects that take insane amounts of time, It was necessary to do a few loads of towels to get caught up. As I was sorting the towels, I noticed the shower curtain was still in the laundry and needed to be washed as well.

Since my son's call I stopped working on my art project that was due Monday, I had been working on it since yesterday and it still wasn't done due to some difficulties I was running into. But since I had not seen my son and grandchildren for awhile, I put it on hold. After all... family comes first. So I hauled my ceramics project upstairs out of harm's reach. Wet clay + grandchildren = disaster. Somehow I'd find time to finish it.

I vacuumed the bedrooms, cleaned the bathroom, but more toilet paper on the holder, and cleaned the kitchen. After a couple of hours of cleaning and doing laundry, things were starting to look acceptable.

Finally, my most welcome guests arrived. I was so glad to see them! Unfortunately, they were only here for about five minutes before my son decided to take the kids to the park. No problem! I dashed to the grocery store after they left since I was out of milk and a bunch of other things my guests would be needing. I not only bought milk, I bought orange juice, thick sliced apple smoked bacon, hamburger for spaghetti, two different kinds of lunch meat, three kinds of cereal, and some things the grandchildren would like, like Oreo cookies, chips... Things quickly added up to almost $70.00. But hey, it's always a special occasion when I have guests.

Since my son had not returned from the park with the grandchildren when I got back from grocery shopping, I continued to tidy things up. Hubby suggested a trip to Capitol Reef in the morning. That sounded great! It had been a long time since I'd done fun. However, if I was to go, I had to get my art project done. I hauled it back downstairs to the kitchen table and spent at least another hour on it. When I noted the time it was time for dinner. Still no sign of my son and grandchildren. Should I start dinner? I had the feeling they had left the park long ago and were now at Jason's, my son's friend's house. A phone call proved me right. My son informed us he would be home with the children within the hour.

During all this hustle and bustle, my plans for the evening had changed. I had been waiting for over five months to see the movie "Hunger Games" and had planned to see it tonight. But since my son and grandchildren were coming, I decided to see it after their visit. Family comes first. The movie can wait. Later, when my son called to inform me that he and the children would be staying over at his friend's house after all, I realized it was too late to catch the last movie. I invited my son to join us at Capitol Reef in the morning. He replied, "I'm not sure about my plans tomorrow mom, we might be going with Jason to his mother's ranch."

Sadly, I realized that only some families come first.