How normal do I have to be?

[Khan]

I've lived alone for ~15 years and someone is coming to visit.

Maybe I should just set fire to the place and save myself the trouble.

 

[REWahoo]

I've lived alone for ~15 years and someone is coming to visit.

Maybe I should just set fire to the place and save myself the trouble.

Maybe use some of that charity money to put them up in a local hotel?

 

[brewer12345]

You should make sure you wear clothes. Other than that...

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Doesn't it kind of depend on who this "soomeone" is? They may be more quirky that you think you are .

 

[Bestwifeever]

Normal applies only to groups--as individuals none of us are normal. So let it all hang out, Khan!

 

[calmloki]

I assume they know you - so stay the same; that's normal.

 

[MichaelB]

Just make sure the beer is cold and in ample supply.

 

[rescueme]

Back to my old standard - "What you think of me is none of my business".

Live as you will. If they have a problem with that, then it is their problem. I'm not saying that you should not do a little cleaning (e.g. do the dishes that have been sitting in the sink for the last two weeks ), but don't go overboard just to impress them.

 

[dex]

Do you want them to return?

 

[Khan]

I live in a bear cave with furniture (Rita Rudner). If I were single male my situation would be thought cute.

 

[FIREd]

If you know them well enough to invite them into your home, they presumably know your quirks?

 

[Khan]

If you know them well enough to invite them into your home, they presumably know your quirks?

I guess.

 

[Khan]

You think that's bad: I also live with a cat.

 

[MichaelB]

When I visit I am more comfortable in a place that is "lived in". Too orderly and I'm always concerned I'm disturbing things.

 

[bbbamI]

Maybe I should just set fire to the place and save myself the trouble.

....sorry I just had to laugh. That's the way I feel sometimes when company's comin'....and especially when I think about moving again...

I work myself into a tizzy. Then my guest(s) arrive and after a few minutes I realize they came to hang with me for a while and don't give a rip phart about a stray dust bunny or the way my furniture is arranged.

Oh...and I live with two cats so I have dust bunnies and hair balls....

 

[CuppaJoe]

My name is Cuppa and I'm recovering from a houseguest visit. I figure it takes three full weeks to regain my life. I always say they never see how I live, just how I am when I have a guest.

My story is similar to yours, Khan; only guest had to sleep in the same room with me; plans got changed, second visit was FIVE days early. My guest gave up drinking recently, there went that idea. Definitely next guests (they already have plans for 2011) will be in a nearby inn. Maybe I'll hint that my cat is not up to it & honestly there is no room in this stable. I wouldn't rule out the fire idea.

 

[Nords]

I live in a bear cave with furniture (Rita Rudner). If I were single male my situation would be thought cute.

Did you trick them into coming to visit, or are they just too gullible to understand what they're getting into?

If you felt like inviting them, and if they accepted, then they're probably willing to put up with you. Maybe they're even just as diffident about this as you may be.

It reminds me of the 20/40/60 rule: in your 20s you're sure that everyone is watching you and constantly critiquing your lifestyle. In your 40s you realize that you don't care. In your 60s you realize that nobody was watching you in the first place.

You've probably already picked a few entertainment options from your town's "101 Things to Do" website. (Yes, even your town has that many things to do. I grew up in one of those towns too.) You're probably planning to show off your culinary skills for one or two meals and let them buy you another meal or two. You might even be planning to rope a local acquaintance or two into group socializing. You could warn your guest that after three days of fun they become eligible to support house cleaning & yard work.

You should probably also put the bathroom door back on its hinges...

 

[Khan]

Did you trick them into coming to visit, or are they just too gullible to understand what they're getting into?

If you felt like inviting them, and if they accepted, then they're probably willing to put up with you. Maybe they're even just as diffident about this as you may be.

It reminds me of the 20/40/60 rule: in your 20s you're sure that everyone is watching you and constantly critiquing your lifestyle. In your 40s you realize that you don't care. In your 60s you realize that nobody was watching you in the first place.

You've probably already picked a few entertainment options from your town's "101 Things to Do" website. (Yes, even your town has that many things to do. I grew up in one of those towns too.) You're probably planning to show off your culinary skills for one or two meals and let them buy you another meal or two. You might even be planning to rope a local acquaintance or two into group socializing. You could warn your guest that after three days of fun they become eligible to support house cleaning & yard work.

You should probably also put the bathroom door back on its hinges...

Oh crap Nords.
You have me down.
It's my 60th birthday.
Only for 2 days.
I am planning on buying much food from the local farmers market.
Maybe a visit to the local coffee shop.

 

[haha]

When my sons were still little my brother and his wife came to visit. They had no kids, and I think they had become a bit old for their ages.

My sons were learning to throw Ninja stars, and I had put some celotex up on a wall at the end of a hallway. There were gouges in everything where they had managed to miss the celotex. Our guests did put in the planned time of visit, but never came back.

I could tell more strories about visits from people who might have been expecting normal, but didn't find it. Some of them still mention how weird it seemed, 20-30 years later. And believe me, they do talk and dissect everything. Don't you

"God, did you see what they expected us to eat?" Etc


Ha

 

[CuppaJoe]

... And believe me, they do talk and dissect everything. Don't you

"God, did you see what they expected us to eat?" Etc


Ha

I believe, I believe, yes they do tell all your relatives, friends from 40 years ago and everyone you ever met.

 

[MichaelB]

When my sons were still little my brother and his wife came to visit. They had no kids, and I think they had become a bit old for their ages.

My sons were learning to throw Ninja stars, and I had put some celotex up on a wall at the end of a hallway. There were gouges in everything where they had managed to miss the celotex. Our guests did put in the planned time of visit, but never came back.

I could tell more strories about visits from people who might have been expecting normal, but didn't find it. Some of them still mention how weird it seemed, 20-30 years later. And believe me, they do talk and dissect everything. Don't you

"God, did you see what they expected us to eat?" Etc


Ha

Ha, the more stories you share about your family the more I suspect we must be related ...

 

[bbbamI]

And believe me, they do talk and dissect everything.
Ha

When someone visits me I'd expect them to gossip about my shenanigans to at least one person. Otherwise, I'd feel a bit let down....

 

[Nords]

When someone visits me I'd expect them to gossip about my shenanigans to at least one person. Otherwise, I'd feel a bit let down....

Maybe it just takes them a while to overcome their trauma & fear?

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I really feel like a contrarian here. DW and I love having house guests though we extend invitations veeeerrrrryyy carefully. Then we prepare a nice home meal (DW loves to cook), go out to eat someplace close and funky, maybe do some local attractions.

I will admit that over the years we have all tacitly agreed on a code of etiquette, know how to share privacy and space, etc. We also know that it's OK to sit in a room reading the newspaper or a book for half an hour or more without conversing.

Just got back from Milwaukee as house guests and had a blast.

Sorry to ruin the thread .

 

[CuppaJoe]

When someone visits me I'd expect them to gossip about my shenanigans to at least one person. Otherwise, I'd feel a bit let down....

Yes, there is some satisfaction, seven years later, seeing a distant relative, trying to figure out who I am, "oh, yeah, you're the one with the staircase going up and up and up." Some would call it a fourth floor walkup, but the real estate people call it, top floor, sunny.