I got a frantic phone call from my daughter-in-law last evening.
She had invited her parents over for dinner, and they were about ready to arrive.
My son was not home from work, and she worried he wouldn’t get home and be ready before they got there. My son and his wife had married when he was in the Navy. He had not met her parents before now. They were planning a reception so the entire family could meet and enjoy their marriage, but her parents were coming early. I assured her that everything would be fine, and she should be used to his never being on time for dinner. She agreed that it was normal for him, but she had begged him to try to be early for just this one night. An hour later, she was frantic. He still had not gotten home and he had not called. I called the HVAC company and asked where he was. I was informed that he was a HVAC technician and he was doing his job. I reminded his boss that he was supposed to be home early, and this was not acceptable. Ten minutes later, my son called and said he was on his way home, and dad said I should relax. When my husband got home, he gave me a hug. He reminded me that our son was getting ready to take over the HVAC company and he got home as soon as possible. I remembered what it was like when my husband was building the HVAC company. He was never on time for dinner.