<h4>By LEE SCOTT</h4>
Have you ever had one of those evenings when you go out to have a drink and run into some friends you have not seen for a while?

The four of you decide to have dinner together when another couple walks in and you get a bigger table. Suddenly, what was supposed to be a quiet drink at the bar turns into a party with friends. These kind of unplanned get togethers are sometimes the very best.

I had one of those recently while visiting family. It was not a holiday, or a rainy day, or a sick day. It was just one of those mornings when nothing was planned, and each of the family members wanted to sit around and chat.

Normally, when you have company over, it seems like there is so much to do and everything is arranged. But on this Friday morning the schedule was clear. And so, we had an impromptu pajama party.

It started around 6 a.m., when my daughter smelled the coffee brewing. I was wearing a crazy pair of pajamas and a new long pink bathrobe and fluffy slippers. The temperature had dropped the night before and my southern blood was not adapting to the 43-degree weather.

She found me standing on the forced air vent on the kitchen floor with the warm air blowing up my bathrobe. I was in heaven. I mean, a fresh cup of coffee and a toasty vent. She grabbed her coffee and bumped me away.

“My turn!” she said as she stood on the vent.

We chatted for a while when we heard little feet, and her son walked in and spotted the wide legged pajamas as the warm air blew up my daughter’s legs.

“My turn!” said her 10-year-old as he hugged her tightly and pushed her off.

It was then we heard heavy feet coming down the stairs. It was the dog. He was not too thrilled about the warm vent, but wanted to go out and so, young grandson got bumped to walk the dog, and southern-blooded Grandma got back on.

Soon it was the granddaughter’s turn, but first she asked to borrow my bathrobe since it looked like some ballgown as it billowed out from the warm air.

Before long we had “asked Google” to play some music during breakfast and sat around the table chatting.

Then my daughter looked at the clock and said, “It’s almost time for lunch. Get your showers in and let’s go get something to eat.”

We had spent six hours just sitting around and enjoying one another’s company.

So, if you have visitors coming for the holidays, may I suggest you “plan” an unscheduled day.

It may turn out to be your best pajama party ever.

<i>Lee Scott, a writer and recent retiree, shares her everyday observations about life after career. A former commercial banker responsible for helping her clients to reach their business objectives, Scott now translates those analytical skills to her writings. She lives on St. Helena Island and enjoys boating, traveling and reading.</i>