KISSIN' COUSINS

I'm ever so glad that there are people in the world who love/live to organize and conduct. Me, I'm not one of them. Oh, I can really groove on reorganizing some shelves or a closet, but when it comes to whipping people or events into shape? Well sheesh, I get a headache just thinking about it!

Take an event like, oh, I don't know, let's say a family reunion. In theory, I'm all for them. We had so much fun visiting with various cousins at both my nephew's anniversary barbecue and after my mother's funeral, that someone said "Hey, we should have a cousin's reunion!" Then we were all, like, "Yeah, we should!", and "Great idea!", and even "We should do it in the Hill Country! There's so much fun stuff for everyone to do in the area."

I was pretty revved up about it at that point, but then the usual things started coming up. One cousin, who produces rodeos, said, "Just don't schedule it during the first quarter of the year. I'm totally booked then, but I really want to come!" Then his brother, who acts as prop-manager for various Broadway musicals in NYC, and often goes out on tour with them, said, "Well, I might be able to get away for a couple of days, if you wait until after the Tony's." Yet another has just undergone chemo, so we need to give him time to recuperate. I really, really want him to come, 'cause he's the only one who went to UT and had hippie leanings, like me. Unfortunately, he moved off to Boston shortly thereafter, and we've hardly seen him since. So..., I guess we're talkin' about putting it off until it gets nice and toasty around here, huh? Wanna make sure all the wasps and scorpions are out in full force.

It wasn't just timing, though, that boggled me. It was simple logistics. Where do you sleep 25 or 30 people, when you have a two-bedroom house, and there are no hotels in town. Should I try to reserve that many rooms in various B&B's around town? There are certainly plenty of them, but how do you decide who gets what? And what about the parking situation, or lack thereof, here at our place, and that treacherous driveway? If the party goes on until after dark, and we serve any beer, someone is sure to end up in a ditch and needing a tow truck!

And so, after several days of letting my brain go round and round like this, I ended up right back where you found me not long ago, when I had that garden episode - in a state of quandary paralysis! I found myself kinda hoping that maybe everyone would just sorta forget we ever brought this up...

That's when big sis came to the rescue. I guess she knows me pretty well by now, 'cause just when I was ready to raise the white flag, she sent me a message asking, "Need some help getting this thing organized?" Hell yeah, I do! And, if anyone can whip it into shape, she's the one. After all, we don't call her The Little General fer nuthin'!

P.S. Click photo to enlarge.