Unannounced Visitors

Buddy Frazzled...

As I finished cleaning my kitchen this morning, after already doing the laundry, dusting, feeding the baby, skyping my mom, and sneaking in breakfast, I wondered to myself “why doesn’t anyone just ‘drop by’ just after I’ve made my house spotless?”  Why must there always be an unannounced knock at the door when my house is absolutely disheveled?  Granted, my house doesn’t stay spotless for long after I clean it because something about a tidy kitchen makes me want to bake and then there is no telling what it might look like. Really though, my house is spic and span right now and there won’t be a soul knocking at that door.

Yesterday the house was blitzed and there were two different unannounced visitors. What happens when they show up? Well that is when I start to sweat excessively, my hands get clammy, and I start to apologize uncontrollably for the mess that they are walking into. It goes like this: “Hey, how is it going? Come on in, please excuse the mess, we were just…” There is no telling what will follow the just… Usually something about starting to clean or in the middle of cleaning, but if I were being honest with them I would say, “ignoring the mess that has encompassed our kitchen, dining room, living room, and well basically the rest of the house and we were hoping that it would magically clean itself because it is Sunday and we would rather be screwing off than cleaning, we’d rather be getting it on than getting to work, ya know?”

Then I start to wonder, why do I find it reasonable to apologize to people for my “messy” house when they show up unannounced? They are the ones that are presuming that we are available for their entertainment or are just dropping in to borrow, beg, or steal. Not that I’m totally against people coming over, I just wish that they would call first. You know, give the ole heads up. I mean really, what would they do if I answered the door in my birthday suit with a whisk and broom in my hand and said, “now isn’t a good time; we’re in the middle of something.”

I find myself ashamed when people just drop by and the house and I aren’t in a magazine ready state. I’m sure that this is just a personal insecurity but it does interfere with my mental state when people drop in. I should just remember that in reality, my house is lived in. I haven’t swept because I have been playing with my son, my face isn’t perfect because my five month old is much more fun to look at than the mirror these days. I’ve decidedly stopped caring if my eyebrows aren’t arched…

I should not be the one apologizing anyway! If someone has just dropped by without invitation and without a heads up then guess what, they are getting the real deal. If they don’t like it then they can just keep on driving. Ha! Yeah right! I am sure that I will continue to apologize and make excuses and get frazzled because I feel inadequate but I am going to try and reduce the apologies and the angst that I feel when it happens.

Do you get frazzled when people just ‘drop in’ on you?