Expectations ...... we all have them.
       Things we just assume of others, ourselves,  God even life it's self.  Things we plan out plot and hope will take place happen or occur.  God is a hands down on the "know" part of our expectations .... but sometimes others, like humans for instance may not have had conveyed to them exactly what it is you were expecting.  ........ My "Suddenly Package " of 5 humans is helping me learn to express my EXPECTATIONS in a whole different way. I have over the course of the last month and a half expressed my "do's and don'ts in various ways .... frequently I FELT  the need to express them in those "it's happening moments"  ...... when the actual situation was occurring, happening or taking place. I felt   I was being "KIND, INFORMATIVE and HELPFUL" when I did this ...... in a very  ...... well ..... in a very .... what I hoped was a "NICE VOICE" ...... sigh!!! sometimes what we want, isn't how it always comes out. ... My heart may be "feeling" in a "nice ( OK Terry get real!) .... condescending tone" "wipe the dining table off when your done eating". The "CONDESCENDING" that's really going on REALLY comes out ...... It's something I expect someone to know ...... but it's not necessarily  always the truth of the matter.  I have learned that humans can forget and in a given situation become numb to normal expectations. My Blessing of 5  are all right there ...... in the category of numbness and "not a clue".
         After 6 weeks I have realized that my attitudes, feelings and "noble motives" need to be thrown out the window. If I am going to be Useful  and truly be a "helpmeet" for this family I need some over hauling in the attitudes department. ...... Ok So I've made it 6 weeks ..... All the "un-niceties" are coming to surface in me ...... high temps with no A/C in our living quarters (sleeping quarters have A/C) everyone ornery from the heat ..... normal mid-summer thing here ...... and during the "High Heat"  ..... YOU DO NOT TELL OTHERS THEY NEED TO CHANGE! .....
       Solutions ..... I took time to write down my expectations ..... it was a "God Moment" ...... 10 simple things I expected of my "Blessing Package" ...... Things I had "assumed" they knew, would understand after a few brief words that would come "naturally to them after a few times ....... Simple things that wounded and dysfunctional people may not feel is needful to survive. God gave me words, in kind terms to write, so not to offend or demean,  ...... I called a family meeting .... (they were reluctant to attend) due to the Green & Blue Smog left over from my eruptions earlier. I presented it to the Dad and told him as head of his household he needed to read them and then we would go over them. As we went over them ..... simple things ...... it became a positive experience. #1 POTTY CHAIR KEPT EMPTIED ON A REGULAR BASIS  #2 Wet, Damp clothes, towels, anything cloth and yes any clothes, towels or cloth that has water on it HUNG UP TO DRY ….  NOT THROWN IN LAUNDRY BASKETS (the water part was for the 12 year old, she didn't realize water made things damp. .... ) #3 Dirty dishes removed from DINING table when DONE EATING …. NOT 10 MINUTES LATER or ½ hour later IMMEDIATELY when your done eating! #4 ALL goo, goop, food stuff …. etc wiped off table when DONE EATING!  and table cleaned up …. not later, not sometime, not whenever !!!   #5 All food that is put in refrig MUST BE IN A COVERED CONTAINER, BAGGIE etc ….. #6 All prepared food taken care of after eating ….. It is not to be left out over night ….. I do not want any excuses why I have to get up in the morning and try and get coffee & breakfast around pans of food!  #7 All good glass coffee mugs are to be left in the house & backyard sitting area ……. second hand shops carry travel mugs cheap for garage & traveling! #8 I do not feel it is unreasonable to expect ALL MOVIES to be replaced in their own covers after they are watched!  ….. AND put back on the shelf instead of piled high in entertainment center  #9 I do not feel it is unreasonable to expect to be able to get up in the morning and be able to make coffee and fixed breakfast in a fairly cleaned up kitchen. 15 minutes can do miracles in there!!  ( we have a small galley kitchen) #10 I do not feel it is unreasonable to expect ALL toys  to be cleaned out of tub after the kids bath. (the two smallest ones get bathed nightly ..... dirt & mud are a fact in the country) 
       Instructions may seem odd to most but when you have been dysfunctional for years and lived in sorrowful conditions without common normalicy in your life that many of us assume others know you can loose sight of what's normal. You let down your expectations of life, living and normal-ness until there is nothing left of what's real to the general population.