towel head

i referenced the this story in the post below so here it is ...

when madelyn was in first grade she made a new friend, isabelle. isabelle was new to the school that year so we didn't know her parents very well. that was all about to change. her dad, chris, came over for dinner with isa one night. it was supposed to be the whole family, but that is another story in and of itself. we got to know chris well that day. he and isa spent hours at our house and we had dinner together, etc. it was a fun night. chris is very easy going, talkative, a good guy. isabelle is a doll, super silly and she and madelyn were a great fit.

serena is isabelle's mom. i had only met her briefly and after the mixup of her and the twins not being able to come to dinner the night chris did we vowed to have them over another time.

so, before i get into all of that, let me share with you my first impression of serena. she is very pretty. always looks nice. whenever i would see her would be after work so she always looked professional and well put together.

in other words, this stay at home mom who sometimes hadn't even showered by the time i went to pick up madelyn after school was intimidated by pretty working mom serena. there. i said it.

back to the story ... we plan on having them over for dinner, but isa was coming early to play for a bit and then the rest of the family would come over later for dinner. well, i had been getting dinner started, making a cake, prepping everything. the kitchen was a wreck. plus, i was hoping we could be outside since the weather was nice so i had been doing yard work. i thought i had enough time to shower before serena dropped isabelle off on her lunch break.

now, understand that i didn't know what serena did for a job so i thought that a lunch break meant an hour at the most so since she was dropping her off i figured she wouldn't have time to stay and chat. well, no sooner do i get out of the shower and the doorbell rings. it's them!

madelyn lets them in. i run into my room. throw on the dirty old clothes i had been wearing. throw the towel on my head so i can say hello and then serena can get back to work.

well, i don't know where madelyn took them so i called to madelyn only to find out they are in the basement. the basement!! the very last place i take my guests. it's where our tv is, but mostly it is wrecked with toys. the cats do their business down there so i never know if it is going to smell or what i will find on the rug down there. but, the kids had been watching a video so madelyn took them right down after letting them in.

so, i sheepishly make my way down the stairs with a towel on my head since i didn't want to hold serena up by combing through my hair and everything.

(sigh)

serena. all dressed up in her heels, makeup, business clothes, etc. and me. me in my dirty clothes and a towel on my head.

well, i am assuming serena needs to be on her way so i quickly apologize for the way i look, etc. she was very gracious. and then we chatted for oh a good 15 minutes or more. ack! yes. i still have the towel on my head.

serena and i became good friends that day. how can you not when you are completely humbled by the mess in your kitchen, your dirty clothes on your body, a towel on your head, and oh did i mention i had pulled a bit of my living room apart trying to clean the carpet.

oh yes. it was a memorable moment.

BUT, later that night when they all met up here for dinner i was SO much more relaxed than i normally would be with first time guests that i didn't know very well and even during dinner i mentioned how my and serena's relationship (what little there was of one) went to a whole new level that day. we all had a good laugh about it and serena is one of my bestest friends today.

i look back on that day and how embarrassed i was only to realize if i hadn't been real with her (for lack of a better way of putting it) that day i wonder how long it would have taken us to become real with each other. we have often laughed about it since then because after that day she always said how she never had to worry about the way her house looked when we came over. we didn't have to pretend that we have it all together and our houses are always clean. it's been such a fun and lasting friendship. we have been able to do so many last minute get togethers because we don't have to worry about what our houses look like. it's been great!

so, all that to say, we need to be real with each other. i am so much more relaxed these days about having people over. if the people have kids, the kids' rooms are going to be trashed by the time guests leave so why spend all that time cleaning their rooms just to have them trashed again? as long as my living areas are picked up and vacuumed which i have to do all the time anyway since i have walking furballs around here i am happy.

and that is my message for the day :P