Labor Day Weekend

Once upon a time, we used to host a labor day weekend gathering in Columbus. Before anyone had kids the trip wasn't as bad and we had places to put people. We haven't done this in a while, but as some of you know, we invited people down this past weekend. We seemed to have forgotten that while inviting guests encourages us to clean the house, it also invites problems. Yes it rained, but that was the least of our problems. Before that, I left my phone at Kroger. When I went to get it, the person who had picked it up (and taken it home) called our house and Peter went out to get the phone. So when guests were calling with last minute questions Mom was answering the phone with "well, they're not here right now." But even that was a minor glitch. Before all this, I was at church (We do Labor Day on Sunday so people can travel on Monday), and Peter called on the cell (which I had yet to lose), to tell me to hurry home because Ned, my brother who was visiting with his wife and kids, had gone to the emergency room, leaving Peter in charge of 4 girls, with very few instructions for two of them!
Now I should say here that Ned is home from the hospital, and feeling much better. In fact we've packed his family in the care and they should be home soon as I write this. Apparently he became suddenly ill with nausea and (pardon me) vomiting. So he went to the hospital, where the non-medical patient and family diagnosed him with gall bladder issues, possibly gall stones. The people with the MD's gave him morphine, barium, and a CT scan, and then didn't come up with a firm diagnosis. In the mean time the two year old he left with us was understandably distressed, but that was the extent of the "understandability". She has started talking, but as anyone with kids know, two year olds are often difficult to understand! Let's add to it that this two year old is bilingual, and doesn't always pick English when you ask her what she want to drink! (Thank goodness her sister Ishani was there to translate!) But the girls were very well behaved and did quite well. Shreyasi, Ned's wife, came home for a while which helped considerably.
Eventually (that is, five minutes after it started raining) our guests started to arrive. We promised them enough food, but somehow we only had burgers and fruit salad (which one of them brought) on our plates. We forgot to cut the water melon, or cook the baked beans, or make the vegetables, or set out the dessert. I don't make a very good host. Eventually my dad came back from the hospital and I offered to cook him a burger. I put a couple more on the grill. Then I told Emily, "I tend to get distracted, so if it seems like a long time since I've checked on those, go ahead and flip them." Of course, I forgot about them, and so did Em who went inside. While chatting with some of our guests 20 minutes later, it suddenly dawned on me... that I'd need to get some new burgers on the grill.
But everyone (at least politely) said they had a good time and we enjoyed ourselves. Ned came home and crashed, but his girls we happy to see him. It seems to invite disaster, but we may ask everyone back next year!