Tormenta de postres

La nieta de la Maestra graduated prepa on Friday. We were invited to the ceremony. La Maestra is a punctual person, not as punctual as a gringo, but much more punctual than the average Mexican. On Thursday, she called to ask if could we meet at her house at six thirty? According to La Nieta, she was expected to arrive by seven and be lined up promptly with her fellow graduates at seven fifteen. On Friday, she amended that to "maybe a half hour earlier"so we could find parking.Not really thinking, I told Husband that she wanted us there at 6 pm. Husband is punctual, more than punctual, not as bad as my dad who considers anything less than five minutes early as arriving late.
This lead to a bit of anxiety on Husband's part, I have acclimated to a more relaxed view of time.
My relaxed point of view was also because in my mind, we needed to be at La Maestra's around six, maybe six oh five, or six ten, in Husband's it was six sharp. Husband announces our itinerary like a general making a battleplan, leading up to us leaving the house at 5:30 to make a fifteen minute trip. My admittedly lackadaisical outlook leads to some less than stellar moments on both our parts and I hustle out of the house sans makeup. Husband made some comment about gilding the lily, but this lily wasn't buying it.
We arrive promptly at 6pm, which means that we hang around chatting until La Nieta comes downstairs, and five minutes later La Maestra. She suggests that we go ahead and take La Nieta while La Maestra picks up another friend. Apparently, the ceremony doesn't really begin until seven thirty, but we can get seats and find parking. Unfortunately, La Nieta has no idea on how to get there. La Maestra asks her in disbelief "How have you been getting to school, it's on the same block?" La Nieta smiling replies "by bus". My suggestion that we all take the bus is dismissed by the others.
Our strategy planned, we deploy and arrive at the site five minutes early! La Maestra looks around, there is only one other family ahead of us. Finally, at seven fortyfive, the doors open and we file in. Promptly at 8:00 pm it began.
The ceremony was lovely and took less time than we spent trying to arrive on time. I would have taken some photos but I left my camera behind in the great rush to be early.
What does this have to do with a tormenta de postres? When we were sitting at dinner and discussing desserts, La Nieta's good friend and ersatz big brother told us about a homework assignment where his partner translated "desert storm" into "tormenta de postres". Sometimes I think when our ideas hit Mexican reality, that is what we end up with, a tempest in a teakettle or what I now think of as a tormenta de postres, not quite translated correctly.