You should know...I can be a bit hyper and panicky

Well, that is quite true. I can be hyper and panicky and run around like a maniac. I will wail and moan and stress out. Then, once that is all out there and I've put that energy to good use, I'll calm down and get rational. I don't know, it's the way I roll.

Right now, my carpets are cleaned, sheets freshly laundered, house dusted, rugs washed, son bathed and scrubbed, his room clean and neat, grass cut and turkey thawing. And I feel good. I'm actually kind of excited about the visitors.

I also spent a lot of time just thinking about things. I realize it isn't how they see things that bother me. It's how I FEEL about how they see things. The truth is if my husband, son and myself are happy with what we have and where we are, I should not get so defensive. Those are MY insecurities showing themselves. We're just different. We have different values and lifestyles. Mine isn't anything "less" than theirs. It is just different. And if I am OK with that, they will be, too. If I let my defenses down, it will all be a lot better.

Rather than resent Friday's dinner, I should go back to when I planned it. I was excited and happy to cook a big meal for the whole family. I thought how happy my mother-in-law would be to see us all eating a meal together. And she will be. When the time comes, we'll drink coffee and work in the kitchen together, we'll set at the table well into the evening and talk and eat pie. And it will be good. The talk and the pie! And I will enjoy having help with the dishes and bask in compliments (neither my MIL or SIL are cooks).

My boy is excited! And that is enough to make me smile.

Forgive me for being so crazy about this. My husband came home from work and handed me a whole new bag of worries. Visits with my in-laws will be a pleasure compared to what we may be facing. But, I'll worry about all that on Monday.