the best laid plans

"I'm nervous," Mike said to me.

I may have responded with a laugh that bordered on hysterical because if he was nervous then I was screwed. Mike is my social safety net.

I guess I should back track just a little bit. Remember when I got over myself and invited Abby's best friend over to play. Well since then the girls have been alternating playdates between our houses. This sparked off a lovely little online relationship between The Mommy of Abby's best friend and I. As it turns out she and I have boat loads in common plus she's funny, she thinks I'm funny and she likes my kid so she's aces with me already. Don't get me wrong the messaging is fun, I feel a little let down if I come home to an empty inbox on facebook, but that's a rare occurrence indeed. Given all that, I thought maybe it was time for this thing to go live.

So I extended an invitation and the nervous conversation occurred when I told Mike it had been accepted. Now Mike is what I like to call a "Man of the People". Just try going grocery shopping with him. He's much like a politician on the campaign trail with the hand shaking and his generic "How's it going buddy?" comments that he slings out left and right. The guy knows a lot of people, but that doesn't even matter. I mean he'll talk to anybody if given the slightest encouragement. Me, I'm pretty much the exact opposite. I am painfully, awkwardly shy, but I am better than I used to be. Being out socially with Mike is great for me because I know he'll do the majority of the talking until I get comfortable enough to open my mouth. And once I do that, watch out because I usually have a lot to say. So now here he was playing the nervous card. Perfect.

Once it had been established that we were both freaking out a whole lot just a little bit we did the only reasonable thing we could think of. We started power cleaning our house. My stove top hasn't been so painstakingly and lovingly cleaned since the appliance honeymoon that directly follows the purchase of a new appliance. That period of a few weeks when you're still so in love with your stove that you get out the cleaner and paper towels and faithfully clean it each and every night, whether it's been used or not. My bathroom got the Presidential Scrub Down, which involves rubber gloves and a level of cleanliness worthy of Monica Geller. The child sized nose prints were Windexed off the nose high windows and mirrors. I dusted doorjams, chair rail and my ceiling fan. I knocked the cobwebs out of the corners. I even attempted to make the toy room look like human children played there and not a band of manic orangutans.

And now you're all wondering how the evening played out. We were able to hold up our end of the conversation or did we sit staring at our shoes and smiling awkwardly? As it turns out we had to cancel our plans due to an unexpectedly long hair appointment. We've put it off for another night. Which, for some reason, has only increased Mike's nervousness. Something I am finding extremely funny because it's so out of character for him. On the bright side, my house is clean for Dave and Mel. They're here visiting for a couple of days. It's way cleaner than what they're used to and they should probably consider it their Easter gift from me. And now I'm going to the living room to stare at my dust free ceiling fan and visit with my gestating sister in law while my brother hogs the TV remote.

To The Mommy - let's reschedule this soon, kay. And I bet your hair looks awesome!