Truly Kickin’ Back

What a great weekend. I especially loved the last part.

It began a little rocky because we had to do the spring clean up outside before the inaugural summer kick off. Almost everyone who comes to our house for the first time peers out at the water from the back deck and says, “You must feel like you are on vacation all the time.”

Yea, except when I pay the mortgage, clean the toilets and pick up the party shit after everybody leaves. The first gathering is always the worst to get ready for because we have to clear out three months of winter. The dock and boatlift always need attention, the boat needs to go in the water, weeds pulled from the sand, porches cleared and that doesn’t even touch all the stuff in the house that everyone else has to also do at their home.

Don’t get me wrong, I love living on a lake and I love to share it with people, which is a good thing because Lyle refuses to leave in the summer. If you want to see him, you need to march your happy ass this way, but don’t worry, he has a raft waiting.

The three of us all get very tense when we start planning for a party – we just need to stop that portion of the entertainment. Lyle and I both end up with lists as long as our arms of things we want to accomplish before we REALLY kick back and there is always one more thing to take care of before guests arrive.

This weekend not many people came since there were graduation parties, end of school obligations and family get-togethers, but it was also a good reminder to both of us that we do much better with impromptu gatherings. It causes far less stress and we actually enjoy ourselves instead of running around trying to make everyone else feel like they just stepped into Fantasy Island.

Besides, if people just drop by, I feel no guilt about dirty floors or thrown together meals. The day then revolves around the people, which is the atmosphere I try to create in the first place. It’s there regardless, but sometimes I get in the way.

I think it all goes back to expectations. When I hold unrealistic thoughts of how it should be, I get distracted from all it IS in the present. Lyle and I both promised to each other that this weekend was the last “official” party, and I think that is the best way to begin the summer.

We’re ready and look forward to seeing friends and family, but finished with the formal invitations. We tell people all the time to just come on out. We’re here all summer. We don’t always answer the phone – Lyle’s phone gets wet on the raft and I might be lounging on the swing on the back porch. Just bring beach towels, sunscreen, what you want to drink and something to contribute to the next meal. We’ll be here, and if by chance we’re not, turn off the lights when you go. A few people take us up on the offer, and perhaps those are the ones we want to see anyway.

This seems to be the best way to spend our free time – and I stay out of my own way with this type of schedule. How do your expectations get in the way?