i think the world was trying to send me a message yesterday when i went to one of my favorite places, and felt totally and completely lost. the container store generally brings me a peace and tranquility that i don’t experience in many other aspects of my life. i love walking up and down the aisles and imagining filling my house with neatly stacked buckets and boxes. i find myself daydreaming of placing my jewelry into acrylic cases, stacking my shoes in individual boxes – labeled with their cute pictures, using my label maker (yep!) to identify papers and photos that i organize into specific folders for various aspects of my life. when things get overwhelming i can count on the container store to bring fantasies of order to the surface.

but yesterday, as i was heading to the train after a coffee with a friend, i was feeling fairly stable and as i walked passed, i decided i would check out the office supplies – now that i’m getting ready to work again i need to think about what stays in the home office (aka laundry room) and what comes with me to the jcc. but something strange must have been in the air because as i walked up and down the aisles, i found myself getting more and more overwhelmed – what did i need? i found myself without a vision. i left with two plate stands that i have been longing for, for way too long (isn’t it weird the way yearning for something like a plate stand can make you all kinds of crazy) but mostly i felt feeling unsettled.

and then today it all became clear – i’d dropped the ball. see, i’ve been so excited about MRS. LOUDEST COUPLE coming to visit (i’m picking her up at the airport in 3 hours!!) that i somehow missed that my aunt was coming this weekend too (not NEXT weekend as i had written in my calendar). FUCK. so, as my heart quickly began to race in a completely obvious way, while on the phone with said aunt, i took a deep breath and thought to myself, “what would a camp director do?” (and yes, the rubber bracelets are already in production) that’s right – when a camp director, one has to deal be able to deal with the unexpected, the unplanned and minor crisis. end result. we’re going to be fine. sure ABN and i are hosting 13 people (plus one) for shabbat dinner on friday night. yeah, MRS. LOUDEST COUPLE will be using our aerobed. but you know what, this is how memories are made. my favorite camp memories are the unplanned, the unprogrammed. the random as hell, we’re gonna get through this together (i’ve got to remember to post about trying to catch THE WHISTLER!). it’s going to be great. i wonder how long its been since my aunt has stayed in a 27 year olds apartment? i mean, our place is nice, i love it. but we’re not dealing with granite counter tops here people! it will give my aunt and preview of what her own daughter’s life will look like in 10 years…i’m doing a mitzvah.

i’m sure this weekend will provide many stories for future family gatherings – here’s hoping the focus is on how great my life is and not how i left her stranded at the airport.