Parents in town

Sometimes I feel like I'm still 20....and not in a good way. Don't get me wrong, I do really love living in community with my band mates, even if they are all boys. Okay, maybe especially because they are all boys. I love that I come home to the best band on the planet rehearsing in my living room. I love that I get to see Timmy in his flannel pajama bottoms at 3 in the afternoon, and I love that I get to see Simon walk out of his room headed toward the bathroom in a bright red satin robe with bright gold dragons and his hair in a bun on the top of his head. These are bright moments.

But then, there are the other moments, like when your band mate tells you out of the blue that his parents are coming into town tomorrow. Eeek!!!! Suddenly, my shoulders stiffen, I gasp, and my stomach gets tight: oh no, the house is a mess! We are going to look like a bunch of kids!

You see, cleaning the house is a 'band affair' so to speak. I actually work it into the schedule like rehearsal or songwriting or touring because if I don't, it just will not get done. You know how it is: if everyone is responsible then no one is responsible so things just slip through the cracks. Yes, I know we should have a chore list, and I keep saying I am going to do this, and I keep not doing it, so it doesn't get done. And it's really not that our house is that bad -- it's just that it certainly is not in any condition to have both Steve's dad and Timmy's parents in town. Yikes.

So, suddenly I am 20 years old in my first apartment fretting about a visit from my boyfriend's parents. I consider actually taking my afternoon to completely clean the house but then after about 3 seconds I slap myself out of this idiotic notion. Eh, this is who we are -- we have no secrets.

We are the best band on the planet: that is where the focus lay. The housework? Well... I just rationalize it by saying it won't be so important when we are in a different hotel every night. Oh wait a second, there is the issue of the tour bus....

Gosh darn it.