The tag-line for my blog, if you haven’t noticed, is “The Truthful Tales and Misgivings of a Stay-at-Home Mother”. This is one of those posts that actually lives up to this promise. I always try to write my blog posts with this mantra in line but sometimes I’ll write a post and delete it when I don’t think anyone will read it. Or care. Or find any use about it. I know I’ve already done that once this week with “In-Law Rant” and I’m grateful for those of you who did read that. So I guess this one’s for you. A follow-up.
After writing my post on Monday concerning my in-laws, I called my parents. They were going to stop by Monday evening and drop off a few things for the children – diapers, formula, some clothes and what not – but when I expressed my concern for my parents-in-law watching the children my mother told me they’d do it Tuesday night. It would be a good excuse to stop by and check on the children. I agreed happily because even though I wouldn’t be home to watch the in-laws, at least someone I trusted would be checking up on them. When Gordon came home that evening I discussed the matter further with him. It got to a point where Gordon said he would rather not go at all because it would be too much trouble. It was my own thoughts thrown back at me and I hated hearing them come out of his mouth. He really wanted to go and I was making him feel bad about wanting us to go. I backed off. I told him how my parents would be stopping by – and we both a little gleefully thought how that would unsettle his parents – and we moved on. We were going. That was that.
I spent all of Tuesday getting ready. I wore Henry out so that he would take a long nap so I could get some things done, struggled to get Emma to do the same (poor baby would only fall asleep in my arms), cleaned the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, and my office to ensure that there was nothing damning in sight. I made everything as close to the Jones’ as possible before the in-laws arrived. I did my best to not fret and to just make sure all the necessities were taken care of but I had that tenseness in my shoulders. The ‘I don’t want to do this’ thoughts in my head. Even as I buckled down and focused on making sure the evening went as smoothly as possible, I did not want them there. I did not want them watching my children.
The Plucky Parent 