chocolate disasters & laughter

Oh, how we pave the road of good intentions.

Sunday night dinner. We invited a family over for the first time. The original invite was for Saturday night. Then dear out-of-state friends who were traveling through said “Hey! Friday & Saturday?” and we said “of course!” and then had to sheepishly move the dinner.

Shift gears.

We had a menu all planned in advance. Summer food to celebrate the last celebration of summer. Instead, it rained and poured and barely topped 66 degrees.

Shift gears.

New menu. Grocery shop. Cook. Realize that we’d inadvertently left out an hors d’oeuvre.

Shift gears.

Bake. Including dessert. Pots de Crème au Chocolat. Put the porcelain ramekins out of the way, in the laundry room, on top of the washer, to cool. Unbeknownst to me, Cole started his laundry. Part way through the spin cycle you could hear the crash throughout the house. The dessert landed squarely in the laundry basket below it.

Shift gears.

In the process of cleaning dessert out of the laundry basket, the chocolate splattered between the slats and all over me.

Shift gears.

At nearly that moment, a text arrived. Our guests would be late–with good reason. Their son had accidentally stirred up a nest of hornets.

Shift gears.

It could have been an evening filled with complaints. Accusations. Tension. Cancellation. There is always a pivotal moment in any interaction where we get to choose our reaction. Last night we all chose laughter (and ice packs). As for dessert? Luckily some had been cooling in the kitchen. And it was delicious.

love the new love note? we’ve updated the style. what do you think? you can pin it!

When have you had a night or day or afternoon that went terribly wrong? How did you save it? How did you turn what felt like disaster into laughter? We each have a story. I’d love to hear yours.