Tonight, not long after dinner, the doorbell rang. The three girls barreled through the house to answer the door, Annabelle wearing only a diaper. Seconds later, McKayla came into where I was nursing the baby and said “Mom, some stranger wants to talk to you.” So, I got myself and Madison together and headed towards the front. As I rounded the corner the cheery smile of the older woman standing in my doorway, faded to a look of bewilderment as she looked at all of the children and commented “My, you have your hands full.” If only she knew there was another one inside! She introduced herself as Carrie from the county Welcoming Committee, quickly snatches a business card from McKayla’s hand and handed it to me. By this time, the three older girls have spilled out onto the front porch and Annabelle, giggling, is running circles around the legs of the Welcome Wagon. “I just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood and go over a few things in this welcoming package that the county sent to you.” (You must be joking, I quietly think to myself) However, I smile and was just about to accept when Savannah says “Annabelle!!” I looked over only to see a two-year old backside running around the front porch and a diaper flapping wildly in her chubby little hand. I quickly apologize to our guest which should have put an end to the Francis Shenanigans had the diaper not flung a special little present at Carrie’s feet. Really, was there any way to recover from this? Slightly horrified, Carrie looked up and said “I think I’ll just come back another time, when would be good for you?” Wondering if she really believed that there actually was a good time for her to come back, I mumbled something about when the babies nap and hoped that she wouldn’t send out emails to our neighbors warning them about the crazy rednecks at the end of the block. Finally, Carrie said her goodbyes and we all shuffled back inside bursting into laughter. My only hope is that things like this happen to other families as well. If not, at least we can say we’re unique!
