I had a lot of elaborate plans for this weekend. Plans that, on paper, were well thought out and exciting. After all, my high school friends were visiting. I hadn’t seen them in almost three decades, and I couldn’t squeeze into my skinny jeans.
I cleaned my house, made a far overdue appointment to have my roots done, and picked them up from the airport.
My niece caught me in the kitchen early the next morning to ask me if it felt awkward having them visit. She had to whisper the question as my friends were asleep upstairs. My answer was a resounding no.
And then I thought about it.
Over the course of the next few days I thought about my niece’s question. As we headed out to Labor Day festivals, sold out trains, and last minute rescheduling of my wonderful (unfulfilled) plans, I turned the question over and over again in my head, always coming up with the same answer. It was definitely not awkward. But it really could have been. It could have been very strange and awkward. And maybe with two different friends from high school it would have been. But it was actually quite natural to have them visit. Even my notoriously introverted (bordering on antisocial) husband seemed to enjoy their company. He wasn’t on edge. He wasn’t giving me those behind the back looks that I know so well...the ones that mean, “I want my house back!” Mike was even engaging my friends in conversation. He was interacting with two virtual strangers as if he’d known them for ages. He was actually enjoying himself.
A very notable first.
I think he might have even liked them to have stayed longer. We both would have really. But I’m sure everyone was glad to get back to their normal lives. Having friends visit is wonderful, and traveling is such fun, but nothing beats running around in your own home in nothing but your underwear.
Not that we do that or anything. We have teenagers.
Teenagers that were mostly on their “second” best behavior all weekend long. There was a small dose of drama, and a few mild tantrums, but all in all they were fairly normal teenagers trying hard not to embarrass us.
As wonderful as the weekend was, I am thoroughly enjoying a quiet evening at home drinking a nice glass of wine and watching the food network on TV. Life has to get back to normal eventually…and the dog hair is beginning to build up again.
Until the next time…I’ll be back to vacuuming in the morning.