The Best Laid Plans

The girls are napping (well, one of them is), and I'm banging about the house, at loose ends.  I don't know what to do with myself, exactly.  We were supposed to have friends here this weekend for 4 days, and we had a full schedule planned.  But our friends had to cancel at the last minute due to a very sick child, and so our plans dissolved.  We will do some of the things we were going to, like visit the weekend flea market near our house, but other things were group activities, and so we won't do them because it doesn't make much sense.

I'd been anticipating this weekend for a long time, and looking forward to hanging out with them and catching up and sightseeing.  They are living in a nearby country, in a city that lacks amenities, and we were eager to show them all of the things we love about it here.  Our lovely housekeeper was going to cook them a local specialty.  We were going to do a daytrip into the countryside.  The flea market.  Dinner out at a wild restaurant that reportedly must be seen to be believed.  And so on.  I have been envisioning a weekend full of noise and experiences and fun. . .and it is instead silent.

We took off this morning, my little family and I, and did a bit of shopping in the commercial area near our house that I was so eager to show our friends, with its restaurants and shops and pedestrian areas.  We looked for a shop that sells uniforms, to buy a new one for our housekeeper (all of the housekeepers and nannies wear uniforms here, most of which remind me of hospital scrubs).  The shop was out of business, but we found another.  We were able to pick the fabric and color, and they will make it to her size, for about $40.  We lingered over fabrics, discussing whether she'd like the colors and patterns that we like.  Her current uniforms are all black and a bit drab. We chose some vibrant patterns and colors, then paid.  At the end of her workday, she returned to the shop herself to be measured, and I told her she could change the fabric if she didn't like it.  I doubt she'll tell me if she doesn't.

Anyway, after that, we went to an indoor play place that my kids like.  It has a soft play area for babies that is pretty fun, and a more adventurous one for bigger kids.  We ran into some friends there, who had heard what had happened to us, and were kind enough to be supportive.  They had something awful happen to them recently, too, so I especially appreciated the kind words.   We grabbed pizza and fruit smoothies on the way home, and then it was naptime.

It will no doubt be a great weekend with the kids, but I'm finding it a bit disconcerting to shift from the planned to the actual.