Am I really that strange?

I am starting to realize that there have been multiple times in my life when I have made requests or sought out information that has made people tilt their head to the side and squint their eyes at me.

I'm not talking WEIRD, R rated stuff or anything silly like that. Now that I think of it, most of it has to do with decorating or party planning. I've told you about that side of me that likes things to be done in a grandiose manner. I thought I had conquered that side and on most days I do live my simplest life, BUT there are big events coming up and the need for glitz and glamor are starting to reemerge.

Both my brother and best friend are getting married in the fall. I have a hand in some of the planning of my future sister in law's bridal shower and am fully in charge (I love being in charge :) of my best friend's shower. Now these are glamorous events. I'm used to planning, preparing and executing the annual mother's day tea party for my first grade students - all the while pretending I'm Jennifer Lopez in the Wedding Planner, so this is the real deal. I'm so excited about these two events because there actually is a budget and the centerpieces don't need to be origami paper flowers painstakingly produced by six year olds. Both of these events are well under way and I can't talk about them too much here for fear that my brides will read this entry. So I'll leave this topic for now and we'll return at another time when all surprises are revealed.

Next up, C's first birthday party!! Now this is an exciting event. We live 6-7 hours away from both of our families so we are really excited that many of them are making the drive to join us for this special event. So certainly, with the people we love driving such a distance, I want them to be comfortable and enjoy their stay.
So when you live on .17 acres and one fourth of that is backyard, where do you comfortably put more than four people? Well, first off they will need chairs. I don't have that many chairs.

When on vacation, I've contacted rental places for things for little C to use while away from home. I've heard people say that they've rented party supplies from similar types of places. I've also been told that you could rent just about anything you'd want. I looked in to local rental places for folding chairs and banquet style tables. I found them, at a very reasonable price, but then started wondering if folding chairs would be comfortable and function properly on the uneven terrain of our backyard.

Then the answer came to me. Picnic tables! We need three eight foot picnic tables! It will look neat and orderly and I won't have to worry about someone going head over heels in a rickety folding chair. Perfect! Now where do I find picnic tables for hire? None the rental places have picnic tables.

I remembered there was a store, Outdoor Accents, right down the street from our house. It's one of those places that you drive by, never a need to go in, but always an interest in what they are selling in there. It's located at the bottom of a steep driveway, off a pretty busy road. They have many of their goods outside of the store. Picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, wooden swings, you get the idea. So I pull in the driveway, Murano on two wheels, hoping to see a "picnic tables for rent" sign in the window. It was quiet, no other shoppers at 10:01 on a Monday morning. There was no way I was getting C out of her car seat for this so I drove up and looked around, squinting at the sale price of picnic tables. Because if they are reasonably priced, maybe we just need to BUY three eight footers...

There's a man! I roll down the window and ask him if they rent picnic tables. He leans in closer to my passenger side window, "What?" (there he goes with the head tilt and squint...)

"I'm looking to rent some picnic tables!" I say with my "bright and cheery I've been up for hours" smile.

"Uhhh...Let me get the owner..."

There is a quick exchange between the two men behind the gazebo (I could see them through the lattice). There was some pointing to my car and some shoulder shrugs.

Here comes the owner! He approaches my passenger window and asks how he can help me.

"I'd like to rent some picnic tables!" (again with my cheery smile)

"Um, I can't say anyone has ever asked that question before." (head tilt and squint)

Then I go on with some explaining about why I need them, all the while C is making animal sounds in the backseat. The man is looking at me like I'm crazy and then I realize that he cannot see the baby so he's more perplexed about the strange animal sounds than my wacky request. So I interrupt myself on my Martha Stewart rant about setting the perfect picnic tables for my BBQ and say, "Oh! That just my daughter. There's no wolf or anything back there."

Seriously Christie, a wolf? What the heck is wrong with me?

Anyway, he saw my legitimate concern about the comfort of my guests and offered to rent me some of last year's "worn" tables. I'll have to check back a few weeks before the party to get an update on "last year's inventory." Something tells me they aren't going anywhere...

I am a woman of my word. For years I've been telling kids, "No question is silly. Ask away." See, it pays to speak up for yourself and find the answers to your queries, no matter how strange they sound. Maybe I'll set a trend and you'll easily be able to rent picnic tables as well! Nobody wants to see granny flip out of a folding chair.