Alone Time

I was all set.

Hubby would be out of town for a week, daughter and mother were still in Australia, and I’d have five whole days all to myself. That hadn’t happened since – wait a minute – it’s NEVER happened! I’d been eagerly planning my alone time, determined to make the most of it.

Then the proverbial bomb dropped. A one-liner email this morning shattered it all.

My mother-in-law is coming.

This visit will be thankfully short, but it falls right smack in the middle of my “vacation”. The days leading up to it will be spent preparing and the days after, recovering. And I won’t have hubby and daughter to bail me out.

Don’t misunderstand.

I love my mother-in-law and we generally have some nice times together. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t resentful toward her regarding this particular visit. There was no I’d-like-to-come-and-see-you-would-this-be-a-good-time conversation beforehand. Just an email stating the date of her arrival. Which is only 4 days away.

So I have four days to change my attitude. Four days to get the house ready. Four days to talk myself into being happy that mother-in-law is coming.

I think this is what James meant when he wrote, “Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”

Gee thanks, James.