The Return of the Parential Units

Well, the return visit went really well. My parents were relaxed when they got back from Maine and dad told stories about the puffins and the Shaker Village they saw. Mom was, well, she was being her usual neurotic Martha-like self. I mean it in a good way, I really do. Mom doesn't relax. Instead she cleans. She walked in the door and like a fly to dog-do, she immediately ran to find the vacuum cleaner and preceded to vacuum my already clean house. But she didn't complain while she did it. Like a true Jedi Master, mom will wield her vacuum hose in the never-ending war against cat fur balls. And those tumbling druids are quite plentiful in my household. We have 3 cats; 2 are long haired. So you can vacuum all you want; they'll shed more! And mom was quite the trooper. She vacuumed until the remaining fur balls went into a hiding so deep that they may not be found until her next visit.

As long as mom doesn't complain, she can clean anything she wants. I know her neuroses needs to be fed regularly. I also know that, even at my best, I still can't hold a candle to 'Martha Stewart's Living'. And I'm ok with that. If mom wants to happily clean my house, I've learned to stay out of the way.

The other reason for all the cleaning was that we were throwing Sean a early surprise party the next day. We had to run to the store for some final odds and ends (we were looking for these fictitious Italian Lady Fingres that we couldn't find and I don't think exist) and then prep all the food. Mom finally went to bed at midnight while I stayed up until 2am finishing up.

The party went well, Sean was surprised (and if you walked into a birthday party that was 20 days early, you'd be surprised too). His parents, both his grandmothers, my parents, and some of our friends all attended. It was the first time one of his grandmothers had seen our house and only the 2nd time for the other. Everyone had a great time and I was exhausted by the end of the party.

This morning I had 3 hedgehog appointments. 2 of them were very quick since the hedgehogs had already been reserved so the mini-lesson was covered at the first visit. The 3rd visit I expected to be longer, but she had previously owned a hedgehog so I got to skip some of the basics. After that, mom and I trimmed some trees in the yard while Sean and Dad worked on some computer stuff.

My parents left around 2:30pm. Overall, the visit was a huge success. Martha was pleased.

-K