Who's coming for dinner? (2 posts in 1 day?!)

Saturday I got a call from my aunt who's so cool she even has a pseudonym. When auntie Beth called I had a thousand thoughts run through my head simultaneously. It'd probably be easier to write this out than explain...So here we go (my summed up version).

Beth: "Hey, do you care if I bring 9 people for dinner tomorrow? I want to come see you and your family."
Me: Holy moley, it's fathers day, we're having steak and shrimp with salad and biscuits. Can I afford to feed my 8 and her 9? Maybe Kevin won't get his favorite dinner after all, no I can't do that. We'll just cut back on the groceries for our camping trip during the week. We could have hot dogs and marshmallows for breakfast, lunch AND dinner. My family will probably lock me in the out house for this.
"Sure. That'd be fun."
Beth: "I'm just kidding, I wouldn't do that to you."
Me: Lol. (Internal sigh) Outhouses are torturous- that was close.
Beth:
Can we just come visit?
Me: Absolutely, I'd love it. This is like the pretty version of Martha Stewart coming. I knew I should have found time to weed this week. Holy cow, I'm not done painting, the kids idea of cleanliness has been less than choice this summer, Kevin insisted on building that hideous desk in the front room and now that we have a "functional living room" Martha Stewart, I mean aunt Beth will get to see the scrap book clutter all over. And the crowding of furniture, and the stained carpet, and the paper work I won't have time to get to, and my blank wall, and the hideous arrangement up above my fireplace that Kevin so kindly set up one day while I was gone and I didn't have the heart to tell him how crappy it looked....This goes on.

Even after the call it went on and on. It was a busy day with other company who'd come from New York ( I didn't care at all what they thought of my home), errands, packing, time I promised my husband etc. I knew I'd get to none of what I'd liked to. That night I had a reality check. I asked myself why I cared so much? It all came down to pride. I have a great home, a wonderful family, all our needs are met, I've just had different priorities than my aunt when it comes to our homes. Also, we have very different husbands. Kevin's and my taste differs greatly, to top that he cares how I decorate and wants his hand in it too. We have to compromise tremendously. I was always a little envious of my sister and sisters in law who's husbands couldn't care less how they decorate.

I reminded myself of my reminder key. That is my truck key from our truck that blew up and changed my priorities a few years ago. I remember one Sunday morning just after we found that we were to be sued for $2,000,000 for putting out the fire, I was soaking in the tub. I was looking at my beautifully decorated master bathroom and realized I didn't care about the decorations at all. The only thing that mattered were the walls, floor and ceiling. The beautiful wall hangings, rugs, paint job, wallies, shower curtain, garbage can etc. meant absolutely nothing to me. I knew we could lose everything. If we could just keep the roof over the heads of our kids all would be okay. I had my family, I had the gospel. It was a great lesson in priorities.

I'm not sure why that call made me forget so easily but I made a decision as I laid in bed Saturday night. I would not do anything to impress my aunt. She could see us as we are and love us for it or not, that was up to her. We vacuumed the living area the next day and that was it. Instead we spent the day with Kevin after all it was Fathers Day.

After church, Aunt Beth came (with my uncle, cousin and a couple of his kids) and we had a great conversation. They shared stories of my mom with the kids. We had fun chatting. Of course when aunt Beth brought up "bosoms" my uncle jumped up and announced the visit was over. Silly aunt Beth.

They left and I'm sure, because of the wonderful person she is, that she loves us despite all of our imperfections.

I will only worry about the Lord coming. Will He care that I don't have a beautiful mantle display? No, he'll say He's proud that my husbands feelings were more important. Will he care that my paper work isn't done? Maybe slightly but he'll be much more pleased with me spending quality time with my kids or husband. Will he care that my carpet is stained? No, he'll say it was a much better idea to buy food storage than replace the carpet.

Now, I think I'm back on track. I'd like to say thanks aunt Beth for coming to visit, and for giving me the opportunity to remember what's important. Thanks for the stories of my mom and for making my kids feel good. Thanks for being a great example of love, and kindness. You are awesome. If I had to come up with one word that describes you best it would be beauty. You are beautiful, you surround yourself with beauty and you spread it where ever you go because it just radiates from you. My home is even more beautiful because you were in it. Thank you.