Good Sports

A week ago, Sam turned twelve and he wanted a big roller skating party at the rink in Ogden. Our oldest son, Joe, decided to come home for a visit that weekend. Besides his little brother's birthday, he'd been wanting to get home to see Ben play football and to have poker night with his dad and some friends. He even brought his girlfriend, Lindsey, and good friend Stephen home for the weekend.

Joe doesn't come home very often, so when he does, it's a big deal to us. The perfectionist side of me wants to have home-cooked food for him, and the laundry caught up so I can wash the laundry he brings home. Having extra guests in the house causes an additional tug at my Type-A tendencies. Working full time and keeping up with the crazy fall schedule, plus getting food and groceries ready for the birthday party meant that the dirty laundry was piled high and the sink was loaded with dishes when Joe and his friends arrived. I have often said that my life as a parent has been one long series of lowering my standards. I felt them drop an extra notch when everyone walked up  to the house and I realized that I hadn't given much thought to where they would sleep and if I had clean blankets for everyone.

Instead of sitting down to a home-cooked meal, we all piled into the van and headed south to Grimes for the football game. I thought about what good sports Stephen and Lindsey were to ride all this way, then go to a high school game where they didn't know anyone. Steven was an especially good sport when the woman at the ticket booth assumed he was a high school student and Joe teased him unmercifully.

Saturday was spent getting ready for the afternoon skating party, evening poker party, and the family dinner the next day. Lindsey helped me bake an enormous batch of monster cookies for Sam's party, and Stephen provided tech support, getting the basement tv working in time for the Iowa game. That afternoon, all three college kids joined us at at the skating rink, which made Sam's party even more fun! 

On Sunday, Perry enlisted Joe's help cutting a branch off our tree in the front yard. I was only a little surprised when I looked out the door to see that it was actually Stephen that ended up cutting down the branch, since he was the tallest person around and had the best reach.

I shook my head, thinking about all the ways Lindsey and Stephen could have chosen to spend a weekend, yet they came to Boone and pitched in like part of the family. What good sports they were!  I promise that next time they come to visit, they won't have to work like slaves and I will even cook for them!