Emotions Run The Gamut

You know...we all have issues. There are things that annoy us, frustrate us, make us angry, and make us sad. On Saturday, those issues came out into the open for the four of us.

Unlike what I normally do, I am NOT going to detail what happened when those issues came into the open, but let's just say that most of us (especially me) did and said things that we will regret and laugh at later. All of this came about on the day of my mom's "surprise party." I say this because she figured it out only hours before it would happen.

On Wednesday, Rhonda, our family friend, called me with her announcement that she would be planning a surprise party for my mom's 50th birthday (which was a little over a week ago). She called some of Mom's friends and relatives and left me to do the rest of the calling (and to inform Dad and Samone of the plans).

There were some inherent problems with this. For one thing, it was last-minute. Auntee couldn't come because she had to work. Then, there was the real problem...getting Mom out of the house for a party. One thing about my mother is that she hates surprises. She likes to be prepared for things. Also, she can figure stuff out pretty well. With the party just a week after her birthday and Rhonda giving a suspicious reason for getting her out of the house, she figured it out pretty quickly considering. Actually, I'm kind of glad that it didn't end up really being a surprise. It's much better that she was able to enjoy herself instead of being shocked and worried about herself.

By the time Rhonda came by, we were at the tail end of working out the issues that came out earlier that day. Rhonda found out that she knew about the party. However, we decided to pull one over on our guests at the party. We didn't tell them that Mom found out about the party. When we got there, all of us (including Rhonda) acted like everything went to plan.

The party was at Sandra's house. Sandra used to work at the daycare center Mom worked at, and they kept in touch after Sandra left for another job. The other attendees included Aunt Barbara and Uncle Bayne, Rhonda's sister, another former co-worker of Mom's, and Regina, arguably Mom's oldest friend (not in age...they've been friends since grammar school!).

The party was fun and certainly refreshing after the issues. We had good food including chicken wings, fish, spaghetti, deviled eggs, and fruit/veggie trays. We basically spent the evening talking. The stereo system wasn't initially working, but I was able to hook it up right and play some music.

Dad, Samone, and I left before the party was over. Dad had to work that night (although he went in later than normal). Samone and I relaxed and watched SNL. Mom was brought back home less than two hours later.

I guess that day was a good example of how you just have to deal. Before going to that party, I felt really bad and incredibly stupid. I know the emotions of the rest of us were probably also negative. Yet, we all kind of sucked it up and went on. If there is one thing all of us could agree on is that we did not want our dirty laundry aired out for people to see. Besides, the issues weren't as bad as they could've been. They didn't involve teen pregnancy, adultery, drugs, gangs, the police, or stuff like that. Every family has their problems, but I feel that our family is blessed because we have managed to avoid the MAJOR ones. We have been through a lot and we will undoubtedly go through a lot in the future, but as my dad has told me...the Lord doesn't give you something that you can't handle.