HI!!! We’re here for a week!!! How many bathrooms do you have?
Well, mama is just tickled pink over an email she received from her good friend whose stepdaughter and kids announced (!) that they were coming to see their papa and her for a few days, and mama’s friend did a little laying down of the law about house guests in a small space and the next thing she knew, her thoughtful husband was out renting a little space for them to be on their own—in the same town, of course.
This is the thing: mama and papa learned years ago that when an entourage is descending on them, complete with kids and habits and preferences of their own, that it’s best to put them in their own abode and meet for lunch or dinner or both and do things together and then go back to one’s own lair to have a breather.
And mama says that of course there are those times when it’s not economically feasible for some, but mama and papa are lucky that way and neither of them was accustomed to staying with friends when they traveled (mama and papa both love hotels and a little privacy after lots of family events, and so do I!) and if you have the means to have your own space, well, then, that’s it. And mama and papa said that now that they are…uh…over a certain age and able to spend a little on the kids, why not spend it on a place for them in the summer in our little town and let them have their own little vacation whilst visiting us, too. Mama loves to cook for them and there are so many things to do around here with kids—butterfly farm, turtle valley (I’d like to be asked to that outing—turtles are about my speed and sleep a lot, except those two mama told me about on the LAST outing that were…well…shall we say, NOT sleeping exactly, but mama said, well, kids need to learn about animal behaviour and so they did, believe me!), hawk-watching, the beach, you name it.
So mama is really touched that her friend’s life with visitors might be a bit less stressful this time and there is always something to be learned from new arrangements. It’s true that family are not exactly guests, but a little distance between family members on extended visits is not a bad thing. And then everyone meets again with stories of what they’ve been doing and make plans together for something else to do–it all works really well. And it might make summer visits more enjoyable, who knows?
Just don’t arrange MY arrangements, please. I’m staying in THIS house with mama and papa come hell or high water and don’t you forget it!!!
I like my own magazines and newspapers and my own couch and to sleep when I feel like it–so there!
