Some People Just Shouldn't Have Parties

I'm one of those people. Parties just stress me out from start to finish. From when to have it, who to invite (even though most people don't care one way or the other - which also stresses me out), and what to serve to why people aren't RSVPing, who's going to show up and what time is everyone going to leave (it used to bother me if the parties ended too early; not so much now that I'm a sleep-deprived mom).

Before the day of the party, I'm stressing out trying to figure out the menu, the bar and the set up. I'm also running around trying to decorate, particularly in the case of our most recent shindig, the Ornament Exchange Party. And wondering why people aren't RSVPing.

The day of the blessed event, I'm stressing out trying to clean up and prepare food up to the minute people arrive. At least 3 trips to the store are made between me and my husband, Rick, picking up last minute items, those things I forgot on a previous trip or to buy paper plates (since the plates I thought I had turned out to be napkins). And I stress out wondering if anyone's going to show up, but hoping that no one shows up too early because we're not ready.

During the event itself, I stress over the food (do we have enough? is it staying hot? do people like it? why aren't they eating [insert item here]? ), the beverages (do we have enough? are we running out of ice? what happened to all the cups?), and the guests (are they having fun? are they interacting? do they need anything?). It's enough to drive a gal crazy.

So bottom line: parties stress me out. But I love being a hostess, so I guess I'll just have to deal. Hope to see you at my next get-together. Just ignore me if I'm curled up in a corner somewhere, trembling.