Reunion

I can't believe I've done this, but I did. I told J. to invite his entire family here for Thanksgiving. I will regret it somewhere between now and then, but we will manage. My one requirement is: I have to have a room to myself to 'retreat' to when the 6 kids, 8 adults and barking dogs start to get on my nerves. As long as I can go to bed 'early' and have some quiet time, I'll be fine. Of course, cooking for several days for that many people will be a challenge - and expensive. But we'll manage. It's less of a challenge to host company now that we have the cleaning ladies to help keep the house presentable. Less to stress about in preparation for the big dinner. And I've got a few recipes for breakfasts that are quick and easy - and with Thanksgiving, lunch is always just leftovers. Turkey sandwiches with dressing and cranberry sauce are the BEST.

And, we're attending J's 40th high school reunion the first weekend in November. He'll play golf on Saturday morning, I'll head to the mall and the kids will stay with their cousins in Tulare, about 1/2 hour away from Visalia. We'll all head back home on Sunday. J. and I will stay at a hotel in Visalia, near the party location. We attended his 25th and it was a lot of fun. I just can't get over that it's been 15 years. [We're both sitting here trying to remember if we went to his 25th or his 30th? It had to be his 25th...and we just had B. and left him with J.s brother and his wife for the night.]

Time to head to bed. I had a wonderful chat with N. on the phone a couple nights ago. I always love talking to her. And Friday night, I'll be meeting another college friend for dinner - can't wait to see her again. We had lunch with another friend just last week, but we didn't get nearly enough opportunity to chat 'just the two of us', so we'll get together again. It'll be lots of fun and a great start for the weekend.

Weekend will be the usual - laundry (which J. does most of - thanks, sweetie), yard work, house stuff, errands, etc. Stuff. I hope I can get a nap somewhere in the two days. I'm going to try.

I always fantasize about idyllic weekends, filled with productive accomplishments and much family 'fun' and good spirits. They typically aren't. They are full of angst filled teens, with long lists of demands and needs and wants. The accomplishments I yearn to get to often times don't happen. But I keep trying.

It's like weekday mornings...when you wake up briefly, uncomfortable, just slightly, maybe a bit chilly. So you pull up the covers and sink into that warm, 'oh great, I'm going back to sleep' feeling. Then you glance at the clock and realize your alarm is going off in a few minutes. And you are so disappointed, and then think 'it's OK. I can sleep in on the weekend'. Only on the weekend, you never, EVER have that same 'feeling'. Never wake up just slightly and have that joy-filled moment of sinking into a warm bed and realizing it's Saturday and you can sleep as long as you want. It just doesn't happen. I can't figure that out - why that feeling happens 2-3 times each week, during the work week, but is never recreated on weekends when the drifting back to sleep is completely possible and oh so delicious a feeling. I'm usually up, awake, realizing that if I go back to sleep, I'll feel horrible when I wake up. Because I'd be forcing myself to go back to sleep.

I want to have that 'slipping back to sleep' feeling this weekend. Just once.