Don't feel conscious Giddy, you should feel free to post anything here that you'd like to - it's not always easy for us to respond because none of us have any similar experience, but I know from my experience how important MN is as a place to come and unload stuff you wouldn't say to anyone in real life. You carry right along there, and glad you had a nice night with dd1!
I have traumas of an entirely different nature; I have organised a party for ds' birthday and unwisely invited members of both my family (parents divorced but can be amicable, even my grandparents are controllable now in their loathing for my dad) and dh's family (v complicated situation with my BIL, who has been denied access to his dd for 15 years, but now he, the dd and the dd's mum are all coming to the party, WTF). It is worse than my wedding, I'm not joking.
On top of that, have various friends saying crap things like "I can't come if England are playing, even before the match because I have to get drunk" and "I can't come if it's my dd's photo session at Water Babies" (this takes all day, seemingly?!) and partly as a result of that, have been seriously re-evaluating certain friendships. England-drunk-match person is someone for whom I travelled back to Yorkshire from Sweden (via Edinburgh - don't ask) for his wedding - a marriage that lasted a cumulative total of about 13 months before they called it quits after several separations. But he can't manage not to get pissed before a stupid football match?!?!
ANYWAY, now my half-sister, who I hoped was safely tucked away teaching English in Mexico is back in Europe, wants to come (daren't tell my brother as he will probably refuse to come as a result) and wants to bring her best friend with her, is that okay?! I do think that this time I am going to have say, no it bloody well isn't.
I seem to recall my dad (also her dad) turning up on my graduation day with some totally random cousin in tow, asking if that was okay. Of course, no tickets available for the ceremony but I had to accommodate this extra person for lunch, already quite difficult with my mum and dad having to see each other when (in my mum's case) she would rather lay about him with a machete. AND my dad complained about the restaurant I'd chosen and god knows what else.
ARRRGGGHH and have now just recalled that my dad nearly missed my wedding, because my half-sister took so long choosing a pair of boots in the shops in Cambridge that they didn't have enough time to bomb along the A14 to our town, he had to double park somewhere and missed the photos as he was off finding another parking space.
HARRUMPH!