Kids are napping, house is quiet (except my unusually annoying cat who tends to yowl when there is silence) and I am alone- not for long- but for the moment.
This month has been certifiably nuts- with a capitol N. The last week in July my 16 year old sister came for two weeks, then my brother in law came the last weekend she was here and stayed for two weeks but while he was here my other sister came with my niece for 1 week and then my Dad, Step-mom and two sisters came the weekend she was here and stayed a week. Yes- I am crazy. And if I wasn’t before, I am now.
Honestly none of them were bad guests- it was just the shear girth of them all. I don’t usually plan so poorly, but each visit had it’s own story so it was hard to say no.
And yah know what- I actually like having company, I love to host- it’s one of my gifts. Usually I put fresh flowers in the guest room when we have someone stay, but this time I was doing so many bed changes and cleaning so many sheets between visits that I barely had a chance to take a breath.
I usually give our nuclear family 3 months between visiting parents (we have 4 sets of them!) but who would’ve thought that in August three of our siblings would decide they also wanted to visit!
After the last of the guests left I had a sort of eruption and my husband Kenny got the brunt of it all. For a whole month I made concessions to make other people comfortable, cleaned up and cooked for everyone fairly often, stayed up to chat instead of going to sleep right away, went sightseeing or shopping, tried to keep the kids quiet in the morning so our guests could sleep, listened to opinions on everything ranging from parenting to health and fitness- pretty normal guest stuff, but after a whole month of it I just want to sit and stare quietly at a soft white wall (which I have done). *sigh* I think I may have over done it.
But things are quieter now. Kenny and I debriefed a bit on how to better handle things in the future, the kids are back to a more normalized schedule, and I’ve caught up on the laundry. Now I’m focusing on other things- Lucy starts preschool and my mom’s group starts its new semester. I’m resting up, preparing for the next phase and life is rolling on.
I feel your pain. We had a solid month of visiting pastors and wives one year and I was totally frazzled by the end of it.
Life sure can be a roller coaster! Especially when there are little ones involved (and lots of visitors.) But that’s what keeps it from being dull. I am glad you and hubby are looking for ways to prepare for the next fast turn. Next thing you know, it’ll be here!