The Host With the Most…(Dirty Socks that Is)

I’m hoping this cute kid will distract you from my mess.

Friday morning was a bit of a disaster. I got an early call from The Husband who was having a crappy day. Then I got a text from my sister who was having a crappy day. I was feeling behind from feeling sick on Thursday so the day seemed shorter than the t0-do list. Then, in the midst of running kids from doctors, to orthodontists to school, I spent an hour at home waiting for and then tracking down a cleaning service that never showed up.

I was co-hosting a shower that Saturday with my sister-in-law for our cousins. My SIL is the perfect co-host because she has a ton of ideas that I was happy to help carry out and she did 99% of the legwork that made us all look good. She and I are also of the same mind that while decorations and decor are important, it’s mostly the love and the mood of an event that are key. So we stacked our mismatched dishes and shined up our everyday glassware and got prepared to throw a party. I tried not to be stressed, but I will admit that my house is not in the shape I would like it to be in. It needs some TLC and while I love it, it’s certainly not a show house and The Husband’s family is a classy bunch. Most of the guests were his family and they live in gorgeous homes and throw the kind of parties where every detail is perfect and you have such fun that your left talking about them for days. I knew not one of these women would judge me or care, really, about the state of my house, but I wouldn’t be honest if I said I didn’t want to shine it up it’s best to impress anyway.

So, I hired a cleaning company that I had a gift certificate for. I haven’t hired anyone to clean my house since back in the days where I lived so far beyond my means I had no right hiring anyone to do anything for me. Needless to say I was a bit anxious about spending money on it this time (GCs only go so far), but I also felt my house had to be spit-polished to within an inch of its life to look halfway decent.

Imagine my chagrin when the cleaners never showed! The result was that I spent Friday afternoon into the night buffing, waxing, dusting, moving furniture, sweeping, vacuuming and streak-free shining everything in every room. It was the most this house has ever been cleaned since we moved in. Actually, maybe ever.

The party went off without a hitch. The place looked good-mostly thanks to my sister-in-law’s adorable decorations and decor. She was happy, which was important to me and the moms of the new baby were happy which was most important to everyone. We had a crowd that stayed well into the evening and night, gathered around my dining room table for dinner and drinks and the kind of conversation and laughter I dream of having in my home. People praised the shower. People loved the drink and food. A few even remarked about my house-calling it warm and cozy, which are the words I always want associated with the home I create. Everything was perfect.

I sat, rather smugly, on Sunday afternoon with a cup of coffee prepared to chat with The Husband about the prior evening. All ready to pat myself on the back for pulling it off, I was on the very couch where the guests sat for the entirety of the shower. I had their vantage point and this is what I saw.

The Queen of “Nearly Just Right”

I have no idea how they got there. I have no idea how I missed them. I actually lifted that chair to sweep the floor beneath on Friday so how could they have been there?  I have no idea if those women sat staring at those dirty socks for the entire shower or not, but I can’t imagine how they missed them! I’ll admit, the sock offenders took the wind out of my sails for a minute as we recreated events to determine whether indeed they were there for the duration of the shower and if people sat staring at them the whole time. But then, I sent a picture to a few of the guests and they all responded with love which is more important than all the dirty socks in the world.

I am who I am-a girl who keeps a mostly-clean house, throws a sorta great party even if she misses some details and above all, is surrounded by love.