The guest is gone. Thank god. Is it just me who thinks a 12-day visit is seven days too many? When I was growing up, we never had people stay at our house longer than one night. One night is a slumber party. Even four nights is a long weekend. Anything over seven and you should get a hotel room. Because if you can't afford seven nights in a hotel, you can't afford to travel. It's a known fact that is the very reason people invented camping.
So is this an English thing? Going to people's houses for forever? Am I having trouble bridging the cultural gap? I need a little help here.
Having people in the house makes me cranky. I just need more space and fresh air. And I so do not need the kind of conversations that make me nearly post rants on my blog. (I wrote one last night, but had to go to beer class before I could edit.) Instead I called the best pal and let her hear it. (Thank you!) Of course, I was also a little perturbed because the dude brought his friend to the airport at 5:30 and was still there at 7:00. When did beer class start? 7:00. His excuse is that he hasn't seen the guy in five years except for the twelve days they just spent together. Maybe I'm just not cut out for having relationships with other people. Sometimes even the dude annoys the crap out of me. And he is so inoffensive.
How ugly will this blog get when my fil and his girlfriend come to stay? Stay tuned!
9 comments:
Anna, I give you credit. Twelve days is a LONG time. I about cut my arm off with my kids home TWO extra days and they LIVE here. LOL I like my space and my "me" time. In another couple months, I won't have any til September. I am trying to savor it all now. :)
TWELVE DAYS??? You are a saint. 2 nights is my limit for guests. Luckily no one has ever requested to stay longer. I'm very much a creature of habit and having guests drives me insane.
Twelve days is a LONG time. Even after a few days where I am the guest I get cranky. I think it's best to get a hotel room so that you and your hosts enjoy the visit a lot more. Glad you are home alone now.
I don't even like overnight guests, so 12 days would have driven me totally CRAZY!!!
I'm with Ben Franklin, "Fish and visitors stink in three days". I don't think it's a UK thing to overstay, I think it's an inconsiderate guy thing ;) You deserve a medal!
Not a guy thing...his family does it too. In that case is it just a family thing? My family has always lived near each other...
Oooo--the old saying about fish and visitors smell after three days is correct. I totally sympathize, as I like to have lots and lots of alone time: a friend invited herself along when I went to the bookstore at lunch the other day. Now, I don't get to take lunch that often, and the bookstore is a special treat. I assumed she would go browse happily by herself, but nooo, there she was, LOOKING at me and CHATTERING while I tried to select some books. Drove me nuts. If I can't do an hour with someone, I know that 12 days would undo me.
My parents never hosted adult overnight guests in our house growing up. We kids sometimes had friends or cousins over for a night or two, but definitely no longer than that. Most of my extended family lived within 20 miles, though, so there never was a real need.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that my husband's family thinks nothing of coming to stay with little notice and for lengthy periods of time. Granted, his family has always been spread out and they've often had to travel internationally to see each other, but still. That first 15 day visit from my MIL in our cramped flat in London was excruciating, especially since my BIL came for 8 days and a friend of my MIL came for a long weekend. Yikes.
Cheryl, that seems inhuman. The only thing I have to offer is that my fil came for 3 weeks once. Three people, one bathroom, FIL with IBS. We gave him our bed and slept on a seven-year-old (and lumpy!) futon crammed into the study. I coped by turning my back and whispering since he's stone deaf. You'd be surprised at how liberating that can be!
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