The Unexpected Guest

I’m a stay at home mom with four kids. We homeschool and I’m generally a laidback (read: lazy) person. This means I usually don’t get out of my pj’s unless we’re going somewhere. I mean, what’s the point if you’re just going to get snot wiped on your shirt or someone else’s lunch covered hands wiped all over your shorts? I’d have to keep changing clothes all day and that just makes more laundry. I typically wait till the kids go to bed and change into a new pair of jammies. On any given day my sink can be full of dishes, the trash overflowing, and the kitchen floor needing to be swept AGAIN. And while I’m tidying constantly I’ve got four forces of nature working against me and there is always something that needs to be picked up or cleaned all over again. Needless to say my house is usually only ‘company ready’ moments before our guest arrive. Several times lately I’ve been met with the unanticipated knock at the door and as I cringe, I’m scrambling to get decent and pray it’s not someone I’ll need to invite in. Today is a perfect example. We had a very busy weekend, Silas didn't sleep well last night, and my back is killing me. I have grand intentions of spending most of the day parked on the couch to recuperate. Not a good day for 'guests'.

How do YOU handle the unexpected ring of the doorbell? Now, I’m not talking about the UPS man dropping off a package but the friend who was in the neighborhood, the neighbor wanting to borrow a cup of sugar, or the landlord stopping by to make some unscheduled repairs. I desire to be a hospitable person, I enjoy the sweet fellowship of a cup of coffee shared with a friend but when it interrupts the flow of my day and catches me off guard, the joy of it quickly becomes anxiety at the need to be flexible (and get dressed :)).

What do you do to be prepared in situations like this?