I Have Survived!

Where do I start? How about with a picture. They always say "A picture's worth a thousand words". So, here goes two thousand words.....

The view from our front door. If you look closely, you see "THE DESTROYER" painted across the front.

The view from our culdesac, looking from our neighbor's yard toward our house. Also, a close up of the skulls painted down the side of the bus.

So, now, here's the report that some of you have been waiting for. (well, the two or three of you who have asked!). This weekend with the band went great, all things considered. They were very nice people with very interesting lives, who tried very hard not to inconvenience us or be a burden in any way. Of course, any time you have that many people (plus your own family) under one roof, it is still rather "inconvenient" in ways, but overall, I think I was pleasantly surprised.

There were, of course, some funny moments, and some not-so-funny moments too. My favorite memory from this weekend will always be the moment when I greeted each of them upon their arrival, and thought there would never be an end to the number of people coming in the front door. Then, as they came in, they took their shoes off and literally collapsed all over our living room furniture. I just remember it all in slow motion. They drive up in this rumbling bus called "The Destroyer" at 11:30 pm, they start piling out of the thing (while I sat there with my jaw on the ground at the sight that it was), and then they just start shaking my hand. Eleven handshakes and a huge pile of shoes later, I turn around after closing my front door and see them all there. They were already comfortable in my house. And, there I sat trying to figure out what to do next. It was a pretty funny scene.

So, my first instinct was to offer food and drinks. Well, they gladly took me up on that. So, two bags of chips, guacamole, salsa, and queso, along with 4 large pizzas they decided to order, then took over my coffee table. And, I must remind you, this all happened at after midnight, when I'm usually fast asleep. (Yes, we're old fogies)

That first night was the only time I really felt like I had to quickly adjust and not start screaming like I kind of wanted to. It was crazy. After they ate (and I do mean ATE), I started showing them where the beds were, and helping them get situated with showers, sheets, pillows, and so on. Both my children woke up at several points during this, and I was just ready to go to bed! But, as things settled down, and Mark and I were alone in our room (with Kendyll on the floor), we thanked God for the blessings He has given us in a home that could fit all these people and a fridge that could fit all the food. We know that this was an opportunity to show a group of people the Lord, and to share our blessings with them. So, we really were grateful for that....even though we probably both fell asleep before we said Jesus Name, Amen!

After the initial shock wore off, I was pretty comfortable with waking up to the house full of people. We kept the girls quiet in our room for as long as we could, and then went out to survey the damage. That's when I realized this weekend could work, after all! Some of them were reading, others were working on their laptops, the girls were upstairs chatting, and one guy was quietly watching TV. It was very calm and quiet. And, not that different than our usual weekend. Okay, that's not true. It was very different. But, it was good and somewhat relaxed.

We had a huge barbecue outside for lunch, with music playing, a soccer game going, and great conversation. They enjoyed the afternoon, and then all went to see Mission Impossible 3, while I took Kendyll to a birthday party and we attended our Class Picnic. We got home (after a shortened picnic due to weather), and were greeted by the only three of the group who stayed behind to sleep. We got into great conversation with these three about church, God, our life here in Dallas, their life on the road, and other such things as that. It was great. The girls were in bed early with baths, and we were relaxed enough to enjoy company.

Sunday was more of the same, and the band left about noon. That was when the best part of the weekend happened. Not because they were leaving, but because of what it made me realize. Kendyll actually cried when they had to leave. She was sad that Uncle Chris couldn't stay for "two more weeks with all of his friends" and Carlie was throwing a fit because she wanted back on their bus. She had instantly clung to Kim, one of the band members, and was reaching her hands out for her as they loaded up. It was in that moment that I realized how important teachable times like these are.

Although I blogged before about my lack of desire for hospitality opportunities such as this one, I also want nothing more than my own daughters to always feel the desire to have an open home and a heart of generosity for others. So, as they begged for this company to stay longer, it reminded me that Mark and I have a responsibility to model for them the behaviors and attitudes we would like for them to have as grown women someday. I loved that Kendyll wanted more visiting time with them and was so happy that we had housed them for the weekend. (By the way, each of them were SO nice to her, and it was such a sweet sight to see her playing baby dolls and dress up with two alternative band girls in her bedroom. They were so interested in what she had to say and always got down on her level to "converse" with her.) And, Carlie made some best friends in a few days time, which doesn't always happen easily for her.

I want my girls to always see me opening my home, and my heart, with a willing attitude. So, this was a convicting moment for me. Although my girls didn't know that I had somewhat fought for the weekend not to happen, eventually they will know those things if I'm not aware. So, I want to be better...if for nothing else, for what I am teaching them about being a sweet host.

Although we all breathed a sigh as they drove out of sight (after getting out twice to push the bus out of the cul-de-sac), we enjoyed our time with the group, and are looking forward to the places they will go from here. We wish the Cinematic Underground the best of luck with their crazy Destroyer road trip. :)

Seth, the band's "bus man", adding antifreeze so that the bus will work.

The "gang" with the girls and Annie (our dog). Even the dog fell in love with these people!

The inside of Destroyer. And, yes, they have done this road tour for months.

I'll close with five random things I learned this weekend:

*You need FOUR giant Sam's sized bags of On the Border chips for a band...not two.

*A bus called "The Destroyer" really doesn't scare my neighbors--or my 21 month old.

*A school bus can actually be converted to have a living room, four beds, and a massive storage area for all kinds of instruments and equipment.

*My house really could be a hotel! (Well, if my customers prefer air mattresses in my husband's office.)

*Just because a girl has a nose and eyebrow ring, she can still cry over a brand new bar of soap in the shower. (She really did.)