Day 36--Not Just Vicarious Fun

Before George was born and before either of Barney's brothers were married (only one is now), it was extremely common for one or both brothers to show up at our house with little or no notice and to stake claim in our guestroom for extended periods of time ranging from two days to a week or so.  I wasn't awesome at handling these visits, to say the least.  I would vacillate between trying to make them feel very welcome by killing myself making meals, cleaning up, and then hiding out the rest of the time, to displaying very passive aggressive behavior about how much I was not enjoying these stays.  It's not that I don't like the brothers--I do, very much.  But, they were unmarried and unattached.  They demanded all of Barney's time and attention and would not clean up after themselves or make any effort to include me (of course, as I said, I was not necessarily the most pleasant to be around).

Then, we had George, and things began to change out of necessity.  The visits became much more rare and were much shorter.  Things improved dramatically again when Marshall became serious with his now-wife who would gently remind him about being a conscientious guest.  I also relaxed some and began to be able to take things more in-stride, feeling more secure in my role as a wife.  I stopped dreading the visits and began to look forward to them, for Barney's sake.

But this trip with Marshall was the first time where one of the brothers has spent more than a few hours at the house without a significant other in tow where it was actually and honestly fun for me.  There have been many times where it was pleasant, and for years now I have been glad for Barney to get to spend the time with his brothers, but that is not the same thing as actively having fun myself.  This weekeend I interacted more with the guys and spent less time worrying about how much extra work and less sleep it meant, and I just enjoyed getting to play games and fix food that was appreciated and watching my children enjoy their uncle.

That said, I am mind-numbingly exhausted, and I am still catching up on school work not completed over the weekend.  However, my house is clean, my refrigerator is well-stocked, and I am very proud of myself for also getting up and getting the children ready for church instead of taking the easy way out this morning.  Tomorrow is my morning to sleep in, and hopefully I will wake refreshed and ready for the week.  Even if that doesn't happen, I know I will wake up happy to have had such a successful weekend.

P.S. I'm working on a fun birthday/Valentine's day surprise for Barney that I can't wait to tell you about in my next post.  Too tired tonight though :)