I am surviving the onslaught of guests with the addition of only a few gray hairs. Ok, a few dozen, but who's counting?
Besides the inability of this motley crew to pool enough resources to make a decision on what we might do on a given day, the days have been relatively calm. I made a couple of the decisions and the rest we just threw to the winds. I can deal with that for a few days. My in-laws probably think I am the most anal person on the planet. In fact, I'm not that bad. I like to have a plan sometimes...and then other times I do like to wing it. I just don't like to wing it when we're dealing with, say, when someone needs to get to/from the airport. Or how many people will be staying with us on which days. But with them, flying by the seat of your pants is a way of life. It makes me a wee bit crazy, but then after a few days I just tell myself to let go.
Yesterday was definitely the breaking point. I woke after too many hours of sleep and immediately started excavating my kitchen of clean dishes. To her defense, I have asked my MIL to just leave things out if she doesn't know where they belong...but the plates and bowls and stuff? If you can pull them out day after day, can you not remember from whence they came? I then found that the washer was running with guests' clothing (no problem) but quickly determined that hubby had used fabric softener instead of soap to wash the load. WTF? We have been using unscented, clear detergent in our house since the dawn of time. Fabric softener is blue and scented (I know the irony of it). So, I rushed to spin the load, rinse it, and rewash with actual soap, hoping that none of the clothes were ruined. An hour later, my MIL is relaying the story of how she thought the shampoo in the tub was actually conditioner, went in search of the shampoo, and managed to wash her hair with what she deduced was mens aftershave. ???????? So she had to wash it again after consulting with GFoBIL for help. I'm not actually sure what she found in the closet, because we don't have any aftershave in the house. She thought it was hilarious, and I simply crawled further under my rock.
I go out of my way to clean the house to as great a degree as I can with limited time. My MIL then proceeds to clean the house again while I am at work and announces her accomplishment to me on my return saying, "See, now you have a clean house." And I get offended. I go out of my way to be sure that only the simple bath products are on display to minimize any confusion. When confusion arises, she laughs it off. And I get frustrated. Her intentions are only good, yet I have trouble just going with the flow.
Am I an ungrateful bitch or what?
2 comments:
I reach that breaking point when visiting people about halfway through the week. Somebody says or does something and I think "Oh god, I need to go home NOW." And yet, there are always 3 days to go, at least.
My MIL does that, too, cleaning the house after we've killed ourselves cleaning the house. It's just the way she is, she just can't sit, she always has to be wiping something.
It's hard to let go and go with the flow, but you'll have your life back soon enough. At least I hope so, for your sanity's sake.
I had non-relative house guests for five days, and I love these people, but it was still hard. Traveling/visiting is just hard, period. I hope some parts of the visit were good, and that your life returns shortly!
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