Unexpected perfection

We weren't ready for our guests' arrival on Memorial Day. I had signs asking them to come through the back gate. (Paper signs were stuck to the brick wall of the house and the gate with white duct tape, top and bottom -- another "worked for me!" thing I want to remember.) But the food wasn't ready: Amy and John returned from the grocery store just after the guests, in fact. I could have cut the watermelon while they were gone, but I made signs. (On the storm door, I put post-its asking people to close the doors tightly after them, and be careful when opening the door, to help us keep the cats in -- another stroke of genius that really worked.)

But the thing that made the day perfect was not being prepared ... because the creative mom of the 3 kids (aged 5, 5, and 7) invented a kickball game in our backyard using a volleyball and three hula-hoops as the bases ... and the dad who usually doesn't have time to play actually participated. And, when we were done with preparations, so did all 3 adult hosts -- so we ended up (after one of the children had to leave) with a kickball game with Grandma, Grandpa, mom and dad, and 2 kids -- no score, just fun.

And THEN, the other thing that made the day perfect was NOT caving to the 7-year-old's whining about wanting to play Wii bowling, because it was a beautiful day for outdoor activities, NOT an "indoor" day. So I took the sidewalk chalk I'd purchased for JUST this kind of occasion, and I consulted the 5-year-old about what hopscotch looks like to her ... and then had her hop on one foot for me as far as she could, so I could make the boxes the right size. And THEN, we played. For hours. The other grown-ups were amazed at how engaged the two kids were in the game!

It was an amazing day.