Preparing for Family Visits
Last weekend we had some visiting family at our house which was a load of fun. Of course, the day before they came, I had to ask them whether they planned to eat at our home.
I have to ask this question because my aunt is my mom’s sister, so there is a chance that she will be like my mom. My parents have a series of unwritten personal rules about travel. They are not aware that they have these rules and so they can’t explain them to you. I had to figure them out by observation. Some of them include:
- You cannot drive more than 10 minutes without licorice.
- No visit may last longer than the time required to get there.
- Never drive at night.
- Never sleep at anyone else’s house.
Fortunately we do not live very far from my parents; otherwise, they would never, ever be able to visit.
Another rule is:
- Never eat anyone else’s food.
This rule took a while to figure out. It was only after a number of parental visits, where we would plan a big meal and buy the supplies and prepare something delicious with enough for two extra adults and they would refuse to eat it, that we began to understand that this was a rule.
Finally my dad helped clarify things for me. One day when they visited I asked if they would like to stay for dinner and my dad really said (no, I’m not kidding): “No, we do not want to eat your food.”
To which I say, to each his own. And also, more for me. And also, your loss, because my wife makes foods of pure delectitude. But at least now I know the real reason – they simply do not want to eat anything that we owned right up to the time it was served to them.
And this is why I had to ask. They could have had some obscure, unwritten, subconscious rule about eating our food, like my parents do. But apparently, our visitors of last week don’t have this rule. Instead, it appears their rule is borrowed from Ted Theodore Logan: “Party on, dudes!” We look forward to having them come again.
