A Typical Chaotic Day At The Campbells

Warning!! This post is really whiney and rantish. That is all.

My husband and I get 2, sometimes 3 days off together a month. Today is one of those days.

A little more background. He's a diehard gamer. The type who play role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars RPG, etc. It's the same kind of obsession with him as some men have with football or fishing or hunting, etc.

This is him and a friend of ours... both of them reading their gaming books at the park ON THE 4TH OF JULY!. The worst part about this obsession of his is that is doesn't end for a few months like Football or Baseball does.


Ok, knowing that, here's the deal with today. A few weeks ago he found out the game company was sponsoring a "Game Day" where they send the people who organize and run the games free swag for getting new people to play. It was scheduled for today. I knew this even when I was invited by my sister to bring the family to a social event in our hometown where we could meet people and see friends we hadn't seen in years and you know... get out of the house! Since he already had his geek fest day set up, I told Sissy that we would try to make it, but no promises. I could have taken the girls without him, but I really hate that - not because I can't handle my kids - but because I think family things should be ALL the family (it goes back to my father never doing stuff with me and Mom - I wonder if people knew I even had a dad hah.) Anyway... things seemed to brighten when we found out the venue where he was going to hold the game would not commit. I thought AHA! I get my husband back for our day off together. Yeah... no.

He decided along with the other gamer buddies that he'd just run the game at his buddy's house way up in Telford, 30 minutes away. He also expected I would go along.
Now, granted I DO play the games too, but I do so socially. I play as a means of having a reason to blow off some steam and just hang out with adults. To be honest, we eat and talk more than play games - and usually we end up playing cribbage, poker or Catan most often. However, he didn't ask me if I wanted to go. I didn't mind the idea of hanging out, but I didn't want to play this new game, so I declined - especially after Corina, our 17 year old informed us she had 2 graduation parties she was invited to and must attend to preserve her social stature. Hah.
Again, did she ask me if I had plans? No.

I did email Hubby's buddies and tell them he would be later than they wanted to get together because I deserved to get my husband at least part of the day.... this led to practically frantic emails wondering who was going when and who was carpooling and what time should they show up, etc... I won't tell you what I was thinking... heh.

So, today rolled around and Hubby woke me up at 11am (I normally sleep til 1-3pm due to my work schedule), and says something like, "You said you wanted to spend time with me today, when can I leave? I need to know if I can catch a ride with someone." Let me tell you that pretty much set my mood for the day.

Then my 12 yr old, Rhiannon alerts me that she needs to be dropped off at her boyfriend's house by 1:30 so she could spend the day with him and his family. He'd asked her to go swimming in their pool. Nice. Hmmm I guess I would have to work that into my completely non-existent plans for myself...

Then Corina says she didn't realize it was game day and since the van would be needed elsewhere, she could pass on the parties, but only if I took her to the Alltel store to get her phone fixed. She hadn't been able to text her fiancee in about 3 hours or so and was starting to shake and get the cold sweats...

So, I'm standing there in my living room, trying to figure out how to make sure everyone gets to do what they want, and apparently my thinking process isn't transparent enough or quick enough because they all start in on me... lots of MOM! Mama! and Honey..???? Along with the looks... So you know what I did? I got in my van and left.

I guess it was childish... my 17 year old said it was. But to be honest, I needed to think and I couldn't do it there. What hurt the most was that even though Hubby had asked me once what I wanted to do today, it was in the "I don't really want to know, because I'm going to walk away before you answer" way men do. What I wanted to do was go to some yardsales if any were still going on and go to the Habitat for Humanity store. And I was kind of embarassed and felt guilt for wanting to make him do something he'd probably hate (although he usually *seems* to enjoy going to the antique stores and thrift stores with me), and he'd be thinking about his game and his buddies the whole time.

I mean by the time all this drama had happened, with everyone barking at me about what they wanted to do and me taking off to think (and go to the ATM for cash), how could I tell him I postponed his get together because I wanted him to go yardsaling with me. I felt like an idiot. Then I started crying about it. That's when I realized it's hormones. I'm totally PMSing... to be honest, they're probably all lucky they still have all their limbs...

Eventually, I fessed up to Hubby about what I wanted to do, and how stupid I felt about it, and he smiled and kissed me and said he'd love to do that with me. He just needed to know *something*. Ugh men. LOL.

I'll post later this week about the amazing haul we found at a yardsale (I read on my thrifting blogs to hit the well-to-do-neighborhoods first LOL) and wow! It was actually the home of one our old professors from when we went to Tusculum College. From the time I've spent in antique stores, thrift stores and on Ebay, I knew what amazing deals I got on a lot of it. Seriously I could have spent a LOT more money at that house, but decided on a limit - especially when the professor started talking to us and asking us about other people we didn't remember haha. We were never the social type unfortunately. (That's one thing I would change if I could - to be outgoing and socially adept.)

Then we got Rhiannon, took her to her friend's house, then hit the HfH store where Hubby fell in love with a beat up old leather office chair that he said would be perfect for his buddy's man cave.

The rest of the day was spent taking Hubby to his friend's house, then the girls and I went window shopping in Jonesborough where I got another footed milkglass to complete my set (well, I now have 6 anyway). I also stopped by the Celtic Cupbord where I got a pack of scones. OMG they are my weakness. When I visit England, I scarf them down as if they will never be made again. (Still to this day when I walk into a Walmart here that looks like the ASDA one I went to in Swindon - I still look for scones... but am always disappointed.)

Sorry, rambling again. My ADD takes over. We came back to town, looked around some stores here in town as I got a few pieces I wanted to do my Memorial Day Tablescape (it's my new hobby). I'll be showing pictures of it on Thursday for Tablescape Thursday. It'll be my first one, and I am really happy with how it's coming together so far. (I have promised myself I would decorate for holidays as much as I can now that we have a new home.)

For now, I am going to go watch a British mystery on DVD and have a scone and some tea. Ahhhh.

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