Monday, November 14, 2011

The one where she talks about.... SURPRISE!

Ah, TV. The place where people are (almost) universally happy about surprises. On TV, you can get all the way through a pregnancy and learn "Surprise! It's twins!" and this is good news, no trouble at all! On TV, your hair and makeup are always done when the surprise party is sprung on you. On TV, you find out the person you thought was your father all your life really isn't. Surprise! Then you carry on with Thanksgiving dinner. On TV... well, you get the picture.

In real life, any one of those scenarios would likely put a serious dent in your day. Except the surprise party, because if you're that upset about what you're wearing among friends, you should get some new friends. I plan just about every event in my life, including day to day operations. My clothes are usually laid out the night before, my grocery shopping is done around my meal plans for the week and vacation plans are started as soon as I get back from the last one. I like order, and I like to know what's happening next.

Knowing this, you should be able to guess how much I like surprises. I like the idea of surprises. I have a friend whose husband plans romantic getaways for them all the time. I ooh and ahh about it and think I feel a little pang of jealousy, but if The Husband were to surprise me in a similar fashion I'd be pretty pissed. Luckily he knows me well enough to know that springing things on me is A Very Bad Idea. Another friend welcomed her son 8 days ago, and she had no idea what she was having until the minute he was born. I, on the other hand, freaked the hell out when The Parasite wouldn't cooperate through many, many ultrasounds.

I like to think I'll turn over a new leaf and suddenly become more spontaneous, with a devil may care attitude about what is to come. But the thought of doing something, anything, without at least a framework is making me feel like a case of the hives is coming on. I guess I'll just accept that it's just not in my nature. One day The Parasite is going to have quite the pout because Mom can't just get up and go somewhere without first making a list and checking it thrice. But maybe I'll redeem myself the day I produce an umbrella, dry socks and a cup of hot chocolate at exactly the right moment...

This post is part of GBE2 - Week #26 word prompt: Surprises! Life with a Parasite has been nominated as a contender for the Circle of Moms Top 25 Canadian Mom Blogs. Please vote for me. You can vote once a day until November 17th. Thank you in advance!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I think a lot of people are exactly like you. Surprises take that level of control over your own life away...and for many of us...me included that is not a good thing at all. This is a wonderful post.

Kathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com/

Catch My Words said...

Wait until the parasite gets deep into activities, and if you add another one... When raising kids, life likes to plan itself.

Joyce
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/2011/11/gbe-2-surprise.html

Jo said...

I, too am a planner, but ya know that life is what happens while you're busy making plans, right? With age, I have gained some flexibility. Some, not much.
*sigh* I like organization. Is that a bad thing?

Anonymous said...

I would absolutely HATE IT if my hubby planned a surprise vacation. One of my clients does that--she packs a bag for her and her hubby and then shows up to pick him up from work unexpectedly and they go straight to the airport. I can say with certainty that something like that would NOT make me happy.

I did recognize one of my own life stories in your first paragraph...and I wrote about it right here.

danneromero said...

surprises are iffy for me...

a gift, a vacation planned - never has happened but i want to believe i'd like the idea -

but a surprise with a ton of people waiting for me, all eyes on me... yikes! no thanks...

Anonymous said...

I wasn't a planner, til I met Rob. Now I'm a plotter.

The Host said...

@Kathy, it's a sickness, but one that I share with a lot of people.

@Joyce, shhhhh! I keep telling myself I'll make her (and her sibling(s)?) BEND TO MY WILL.

@Jo, not a bad thing at all. While I may have more wiggle room later in life (though I'm not convinced, I seem to be getting worse) I think I will always like order.

@WordNerd, what an amazing story! Those babies are lucky they had such a cool mom. Without months to prep for it, I'd probably spontaneously combust at the news of unexpected twins.

@DR, either scenario is an unhappy one for me, but at least with the surprise party I'd only have to endure a few hours!

@GPD, The Husband tries my organizational skill and my (limited) patience all the time. Some days he's really luck he's great in bed.

Mojo Writin said...

I try so hard to live my life like you, Julia... but the best laid plans of mice and aspiring authors.... I usually end up doing something mad at the last minute. But I do have one exception.... my shopping lists. They always match precisely what I am going to make over the next week of meals.... Then I go to the store and come back with half of it missing and a strange amount of pastries and chocolate! Cool post.