On Wed, 04 May 2005 17:56:58 -0400, Goomba38 > wrote:

>Dave Smith wrote:
>
>> I think I am slowly getting the picture. Despite the fact that she is a stay
>> at home mother the house is embarrassingly messy and dirty, and
>> organizational skills so poor than a dinner as simple as hamburgers can't be
>> rustled up without a special trip to the store.
>>
>> Cry me a river. My wife and I both worked, and if we had an unexpected guest
>> it was not a major hassle, despite kids and dogs that chose that moment to
>> demand extra attention. We just ate a little later. And neither of us owed
>> anything to the other.
>
>I have to agree with you here. Unexpected guests and meals shared are
>some of the best times in my recall. Almost easier in some respect as
>the last minute nature can let you off the hook of feeling things must
>be "perfect" as you might expect with a planned-in-advance type
>invitation. Often more casual and relaxed you can still come up with a
>decent meal to share if you go at it with a positive attitude, instead
>of looking at it as burden.

Except...

This guest had been invited the day before and would have every reason to
expect that the information was known for well more than 24 hours before
the "event". This person was unknown to the wife, and generally speaking,
if someone you don't know is going to be in your house, you like to make a
good impression by having things neat and tidy, and you don't know what
sort of food they'll be expecting but I bet they expect more than leftover
hash.

Also, I don't have kids, but I *was* a kid. I was a kid with chronic
medical problems and an absolute terror of needles and doctors. A trip to
the doctor for several hours that involved invasive lab procedures with
needles would have debilitated me for most of the rest of the day. I would
have required a great deal of attention afterwards and been quite the
handful for my mother until bedtime (I often milked such things for all
they were worth).

On top of this possibility, the wife doesn't get notice of the guest she
doesn't until about 8 hours or so before the event?

Clearly she managed to deal with it, but I can certainly understand being
annoyed by it. If he'd just managed to mention it the previous night when
he got home (because he clearly KNEW about it then), it would have made a
huge difference.

--
Siobhan Perricone
"I ain't afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what ya do in the name of your god"
- Holly Near