My mom and dad and grandma are coming in several hours (luckily by plane since the roads into Seattle are mostly closed right now.) My dad mainly just intimidates when a young man is asking for his daughter's hand in marriage but I get a little intimidated when my mom and grandma come. It’s like I’m Luke and Obi Wan and Yoda are coming. (Sorry about the Star Wars reference, I’ve been involuntarily exposed to Star Wars for years...like second hand smoke.)
They are who I patterned my life after. They’re who I want to be like when I grow up. They taught me everything I know about homemaking.
Am I measuring up? The sad truth is no.
My house will never be as clean (but they kindly don’t acknowledge this and will instead tell me how nice everything looks).
My parents will be sleeping in Emma’s room, which is typically the messiest room in the house. My grandma will be sleeping in the boys’ room, which is typically the second messiest room in the house. We’ve tried to clean them but my grandma’s house mostly resembles something in a magazine photo shoot.
So you see the problem.
And while I can bake a dessert that will knock your socks off, I can’t cook as well as they can.
Yesterday Adam stayed home from work in the afternoon to keep me from having a nervous breakdown (his words). He went grocery shopping with me and raised his eyebrows when I was throwing bagged salads into the cart. He said, “Oh, that’s right. Your mom’s coming.” My mom makes these incredible salads in her huge wooden salad bowl with every kind of delicious fresh vegetable chopped up and tossed inside. I open a bag of salad and dump it in a bowl. (It’s why I was saved for these latter days…that and Costco.)
So you see the problem.
Also my kids aren’t perfect like my mom’s are (ha ha…I couldn’t resist).
The good news in all of this is that I know (because it’s happened before) I will not feel judged. I will feel appreciated. They will thank me for my meager efforts. They will shower my kids with attention. They will insist on taking us out to eat. My mom will help me prepare the roast for Sunday and they’ll wash every dish the second it’s dirtied.
That’s why I want to be like them when I grow up.
1 comment:
I'm jealous that you get your parents coming to town...mine are too far away. I am jealous that you get your kids all day each day with you, mine are in that thing they call public school. I am jealous that you can make a delicious dessert, when mine come out dry and flat. You are wonderful! Enjoy your time with the 'matriarchs'...
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