Great expectations and too much information...

Not more than an hour ago I was standing in the kitchen overlooking what was a semi-acceptable mess. I loaded the dishwasher (yes, dinner was done by 6 pm!) washed up the counter, the baby, and the highchair tray. I thought to myself, "this mess would be acceptable if my visiting teachers were to stop by unannounced, but I do need to move the vacuum out of the middle of the room..." Not 5 seconds later, I swear, the doorbell rang and there stood my visiting teacher. I didn't even have time to move the vacuum, nor was the house up to the expecations that I had thought. As we moved into the living room to visit (and for her to teach), I noticed that there were several toys sinking into the cushions of the couch. It truly seems that just when you think that your expectations might be within reach, someone or something brings you closer to reality and what is actually happening. It is then that you see the toys peering out from the cushions. At least that is my reality. The crazy part is, that even as frequently as it occurs, it still always surprises me, like one day there will be no toys in the cushions and things will be as they seem from my perch next to the dishwasher... Never going to happen! So, I have to question which is the better option, maintaining the same expectations of greatness, or lowering my standards to fit reality. I remember a day when my house used to be clean and stay clean for more than an hour. It was during this same time frame that I was easily able to take a shower before 5:00 pm. It was pre-motherhood.

I do not remember a day, however, when there was such a thing as "too much information" in my life. I grew up in a family where pretty much anything that you thought about, you could say. We asked questions of all natures, and our parents answered them. There was never an uncomfortableness in talking about even personal issues. The reason I thought of this is because the other day I was talking to my friend about her children, and she was explaining that one of them was having a medical issue, and preceded the talk by saying, "this is probably too much information." So, I was thinking, what is too much information among friends? If you were a stranger and I was discussing personal issues, then it might be somewhat awkward, then again I would probably never see you again so what would be the harm. I have a sister who does not know how to (or chooses not to) "filter" between her brain and her mouth. She thinks it, she says it. At times it is quite hilarious, at times embarrassing. We used to taunt her endlessly about her abrupt way of saying whatever she thought. I remember still the day that she jumped up during a conversation and yelled out, "I filtered a thought! Do you want to know what it was that I filtered?"

The thing is though, that my sister makes friends wherever she goes, even if it is just a temporary friend. She talks to people on the subway in Washington DC (even if they are trying to read a book), she makes conversation with the lady in front of her in the grocery store checkout. When we were younger we had a paper route that we shared. There was an elderly couple that lived on the corner, the first house we came to on our route. At their home my sister and I would divide and conquer to quicken the chore. Upon completion of our individual sections, we would meet in this elderly couple's front yard. It was on the 1st day we delivered papers that my sister became the "granddaughter" that came to visit daily. She would often be in the house eating cookies and drinking her milk. My sister would use their phone to call and beg my mom to pick us up, then we would walk home. My sister learned through her conversations with this couple that the woman was the sister of our grandparent's next door neighbor, the one we affectionately called "Uncle Joe." My sister makes friends no matter where she is or under what circumstances she is there. She talks to everyone and people listen, because she cares and she is honest. So, I ask is there really such a thing as too much information among friends and family? If you can't share the information that seems to be too much with those that care about you most, what are you supposed to do? Do you just let it bottle up inside until you pop like a shaken soda? At that point do you ramble off all of the "too much information" information that you have been saving for possibly years? I am glad that my friends can share their "too much information" with me. Sharing too much proves that you are friends, nonjudgmental, not easily offended, true friends. So, basically the world is my sister's friend...