"If Things Work Out (ITWO)"

Have you ever planned a dinner party, or a job interview, or a trip with your family, and had it all come out just perfect? That is what happened to me this past weekend. My oldest son JJ was bringing his girlfriend to visit with us for four days. We had met her briefly once before they ever started dating, but this was going to be four whole days of togetherness.

When we first learned they were coming my wife went into hyper-overdrive. Everything about the weekend had to be perfect, including our house. Now in my opinion our house never looks bad, but you ought to see it now. I found myself doing hard work such as scrubbing the front and back doors, vacuuming everywhere, and worst of all cleaning up my office. 

My wife took one look at the way it was and said toss everything you don't absolutely need. I tried to explain that I needed each and every scrap of paper, magazine, and correspondence that are piled in there. She wasn't convinced. So I began the process of moving my piles of stuff to places where they could not be seen by the naked eye. I filled up the drawers of my desk to overflowing and the closet - well don't open the door!

My wife in the meantime was buying the little "extras" that would make our wonderful home even more wonderful. She even bought fresh cut flowers (including roses for the room where Angela would stay). My daughter-in-law observed that we never got roses for her when she and Sean, my youngest son, were dating. That's true but they started dating when they were eighteen. JJ is thirty-two.

We found out Angela likes "power" drinks so we stocked up on those as well as bottled water. My wife planned Spaghetti for the first night, Carabba's for the second night, a friend's house for the third night, and a cookout at Sean's for the fourth night. We had the big meals covered.

To give just the right touch to her room (in addition to the roses) I got copies of my first two books and signed them to Angela. She had read the second book but not the first and she didn't own copies of either. I thought she needed her own personal copies.

When JJ and Angela arrived everything was in its place. I hope Angela was impressed. We sat down to a dinner of wonderful spaghetti and she seemed so relaxed. I was amazed that a twenty-two year old could have so much charm and poise. She and JJ seem to have an excellent relationship but they had not indicated to us if they were serious or not. Parents like to know, but parents do not ask.

The best information we gained all weekend was certain statements that were preceded by the phrase "if this works out." They said it so often that I began to make statements of my own preceded by saying "ITWO."

The four days flew by and soon it was time to say good-bye. Angela had met a lot of our friends, had visited our church, and had played with my grandchildren. Everything had played out better than in the scenario I had composed in my mind.

I don't know what the future holds but "ITWO" she sure would be a great addition to our family. Stay tuned for future updates.

 

 

 

 

 

©2004 Jackie K. Cooper

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