Reason #1 why I'm not a fan of house guests: You can't live your life like you normally do.
Puff and I grew up very differently with regard to house guests. His house was full of out-of-town family members, foreign exchange students, and random people from church missions that needed a place to crash. On the other hand, I was lucky to ever have a friend spend the night for a slumber party when I was young. I distinctly remember a girl who came over in 5th grade and spent the night and the next morning, she wanted to take a shower. My parents wouldn't let her. That just infringed upon their unwritten rule that house guests were not really welcome and the thought of a person besides us in our shower just freaked them out.
And now that I have a house of my own... I totally get it.
Having a house guest, especially at The Bungalow, is an inconvenience and it drastically changes your normal routine. As someone who typically walks around all night in a t-shirt and no bra, I can't do that with a guest. As someone who must shower with the bathroom door open so not to get overheated, that's a very large problem with a guest. And as someone who typically gets ready every single day in the GUEST bedroom and has half my wardrobe in that room, having someone staying in that room makes me feel like a visitor in my own house. I have to pack up whatever I might need for the length of their stay and figure out where else I can do my make-up and fix my hair and get dressed. And it throws me off my game and I don't like it. Not to mention that guests don't come and ask if I need to pee before they commandeer our ONE bathroom all morning. And they all have a tendency to forget how small our house is and insist on staying up late and talking after I go to bed, except I can still hear every word! I have enough trouble sleeping as it is people! ::sigh::
I'm not saying I don't like visitors to come to town. I really don't mind having the in-laws in for a weekend and taking them around to do and see stuff and to catch up and spend time together. I just really wish they'd say good night at a certain point and drive to a hotel, rather than go into the next room. I don't like to be a house guest at other people's homes and therefore, I guess I just assume other people shouldn't like to be a house guest here. My parents don't ever stay here, and probably never will. Nor would they ever expect that to even be an option. I really am a good host though... there's always clean sheets, the house is spotless, towels are laid out on the bed so they don't have to go search for them, and sometimes I'll even sit out the cereal options and a fresh bowl for breakfast before they get to the kitchen.
I guess what Puff doesn't understand is that it's really an infringement of my ultimate comfort level. Since I'm not used to living that way, it's not something you can just automatically be OK with. I will say I'm completely fine if Kimhead or Rachel crash at the house. Why? Because there's years of friendship and comfort built into our relationship. They know me and how I function and they *WILL* come and ask if I have to pee before getting in the bathroom. But having to shower with the bathroom door open when the FIL is in town, is just a wee bit awkward. (OK, make that monumentally awkward!) I'm not trying to be rude or inhospitable about the whole issue, but I just wish Puff would understand my discomfort. Perhaps when we get a larger house with a second bathroom and the bedrooms more separated, I'll be better about the whole visiting policy. Although I'm pretty sure, deep down, the thought of a house guest will always make me cringe. (Thankfully over the years, I've managed to fake it pretty well!)
We had a great visit with the FIL recently, and I'm so glad he was able to come and visit. And I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that the MIL will probably still want to come visit even after we've turned the guest room into a nursery.
Think she'd be OK with us setting up the tent in the backyard? (Gosh that makes me smile! And I don't even have to fake it!)
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