Perspective or Pet Peeves

I like to host dinners with my husband.  I like inviting people, planning the menu, making lists, preparing the meal, setting the table and most of all - spending time gathered around the table.  The anticipation is a big part of that and even though we can't have as many dinners now that Neal's health is such an issue, we still get together with friends or family from time to time.  But. I like to know ahead of time how many people are coming so I can prepare for them and have enough.  Thanksgiving was a challenge because of the last-minute changes, and I felt a lot of stress with the uncertainty.
We had issued a vague "come to dinner sometime during the holidays" invitation to various family members and were told that they'd call and let us know what day worked for them.  I assumed they would give me a couple of days' lead time to prepare.  That would be logical.  Yesterday while I was at the Euro Institute (my Christmas gift - a facial - it was fantastic!), Neal received a call from a family member, telling him that the two of them would come for dinner today at 4pm.  Wow.  26 hours to figure out the menu, prep the house and prepare the meal.  Deep breath, swallow - okay, that will be great.  I planned a simple menu and started working on various dishes, knowing that we would be at the doctor's this morning.  The medical appointment turned into a big deal with a side trip to the hospital to their lab, so we didn't get home until nearly 1pm but it could have been worse.  At least Neal was able to come home!
Back to dinner details - baked ham, scalloped potatoes, fruit salad, vegetables, rolls and some kind of dessert.  I decided to make flan since we have these cute little ramekins and there would be four of us.  I made the flan first so it could chill, started the scalloped potatoes, made the salad, prepped the rolls and set the table (dark purple tablecloth, white bone china, cloth napkins - the usual stuff).  It was very pretty. 
Four o'clock came and went.  At 4:45 the phone rang - they were on their way, had just stopped in Seattle to pick up a third person and would be here shortly.  Neal hung up, relayed the message and I raced for the dining room to make adjustments - one more plate, more silverware, another glass.  Uh-oh.  Five people?  Four desserts?  I looked at Neal and said,  "What shall I do?"   I had cookies in the freezer so I pulled them out and decided to give folks an option - cookies with flan or ice cream.  Neal said he would pick ice cream, so we could handle it. 
Dinner started 90 minutes late which meant the potatoes were either going to be cool or overcooked.  I chose to pull them out of the oven and just have them be "less warm."  It was all right. 
We had a nice time - conversation included everyone and it was a pleasant evening.  Given a choice, I prefer a little advance warning, such as the number attending and some lead time to plan and prepare.  But this worked and Neal said everyone seemed to feel welcome.
For the rest of this week all I need to worry about are lab results and what happens next for Neal.  He is getting weaker each day.  Between the infection which is so debilitating and the deteriorating aortic valve he has no energy at all.  Hopefully now that the primary care doctor and the cardiologist are in agreement and we have requested the same infectious disease doctor, maybe they will figure out a plan that will get Neal healthy enough to go into the hospital. 
Didn't we just go through this last year?