Dear Editor,
My wife never plans ahead….. Suddenly, her sister will show up at the house with rice soup, papaya salad, and all that raw looking fish stuff… no warning and here I am about to stuff a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into my mouth… If I had known the sister was on her way I could have made some egg salad sandwiches or a cream cheese and cracker appetizer for everybody….. It’s beyond me.
I have asked her to understand how weird it is for me to be standing around in my undershirt and jockey shorts when someone from her family rolls up…. but she pays no attention. It’s the same every day. How have you editors survived? You’ve been here so long you must have a solution.
Sincerely
Ted Thrinkson
………………
Ted,
Talk about pre-planning whoa’s. Had we known we were in for a letter like yours we would have gone for a double caffeine.
Yes, indeed we have all been through this. Even the guys who aren’t married have been caught out from time to time when their other girlfriends showed up unannounced for sticky rice. Of course, these guys are single so the odds of them looking a tad bit more handsome in their jockeys than you can be debated….
The girls here don’t mind seeing a guy standing around in his shorts… They see pajamas all the time… It’s the promised egg salad sandwich or cream cheese delight that may cause a bit of discomfort. But don’t worry, they will get over that…. as you will soon embrace sticky rice smeared with the juices of just barely steamed fish…. It is something you will look forward to………. We could have said, “it is something you can plan to happen…..” but held off, as to not disturb your sensibilities….
We are back on track.
The trick here is to just drop your sixty years of tight ass ways that you learned in the far West under the puritan rule … Learn to embrace the discomfort of haphazard planning while you are here…. After all, we can only imagine it was about one hour from your arrival into the land of smiles that you fell in love and barely another week before you were engaged, married and a home owner…. Tell us about that planning. Enjoy the roll…
Sincerely
Editor
Great.
I have been planning all of my life and ended up here.
Isn’t that amazing.
Now I am still planning but learned to accept the Thai interpretation.
Events are certainly in accordance with someones planning but beyond my direct control.
Amazingly enough I feel more relaxed in avoiding those self imposed “responsibilities” and in accepting life as it comes.