It's all about expectations

Remember how I made the brilliant point about the two things that make us angry? I didn't think so. But anyway, I was angry tonight (briefly), and it was precisely because I had an expectation and it wasn't being met.
I've been in Texas for over a week, during which time agents have been showing our house, which is for sale in case anyone is interested.
I had an expectation that
a) the kids knew the house needed to be kept clean
b) Hannah would do what she said she would do (ie, make sure it was presentable)

When I got home tonight, the house had an unpleasant smell, from dirty dishes in the sink and a wet load of laundry that never got dried. If there's one thing that will make an impression on someone, it's how a house smells.
So I was angry. Hannah had been by at least once, and done virtually nothing -- there were four specific things she had agreed to take care of, and none of them were done. The kids had spent time at the house, but hadn't done any chores. Samantha had dirtied the dishes making cupcakes and milkshakes and had left them in the sink to mold (doubly annoying since it's her job to do ALL the dishes, not just her own). David had not emptied the garbage under the kitchen sink.

I'm barely keeping things afloat right now financially -- I desperately need to sell this house so I can pay back my family for temporary loans, pay off our credit cards, the lawyers for the divorce, etc etc. I'm running a small (okay, tiny) business, trying to emotionally nurture the kids, find a place to live, sell the house, and pay several thousand dollars of child support & alimony every month. Last week was a great time for people to look at the house because it was fresh on the market and no one was home for a week. But because other people didn't do what I needed (ie, expected) them to do, the house sat in a very unattractive state during all that time.

I'm over it now. I did both kids' chores, lit some candles, ran the laundry, baked a chocolate cake to make the place smell nice, and wrote a blog post complaining about all the people in my life. Tomorrow at 9am more people are coming to look at the house, so I'm going to bed now.

You might have expected me to use the space to be interesting instead of whining, but you'd be disappointed. Hope you're not angry about it.