In a fit of end-of-summer ambition and good will, I decided it would be nice to host a Potluck-Picnic-Back-to-School-Bash at our new house. We never had a housewarming, and we’d been meeting families at our kids’ schools that we wanted to get to know. So, one Paperless Post invitation later, we were ready to go.
Add in a few instructions on what to bring:
We will handle the main dishes. If your last name is A – O, please bring a side dish. If your last name is P – Z, please bring an appetizer or dessert. Share in the comments what you will bring.
Many people nicely RSVP’d with items like brownies, watermelon, and bean salad. 44 of them, in fact, including 24 children under the age of 7. We had Cornhole, a water table, and lots of balls, bats and cones. Guests were to bring their own chairs and blankets.
Perfect plan, right?
And then the night before, the weather report was like this. In case you couldn’t hear the weatherman correctly, here are a few choice words from his forecast: heavy rain, isolated flooding, strong gusts, major downpours, umbrella, poncho.
Gulp. Visions of Lord of the Flies danced in my head. I’m all for children making their own fun, but not 24 of them running hog wild around my house. Possibly with mud on their feet.
