Monday, November 22, 2010

I Paid for Services from a Woman on Craigslist


This Thanksgiving is gonna be uh-mazing.

3 years ago on this holiday LT Fromage asked my dad if he could marry me (Yeah, he’s totally such a gentleman! I’m a lucky lady, I know). I was uber nervous about that day, not because I knew he was gonna pop the question (to my dad… not me, yet. He waited until Christmas, but I’ll save that story for next month!) but because it was the first time we were introducing our parents to each other.

I had nightmares for months prior (I kid you not) about them hating each other. Most mornings I woke up when they started screaming at one another in the front yard.

That didn’t happen. Phew.

Actually, our folks loved each other!

I think we’re a pretty lucky couple. It’s hard enough to find someone you love enough to marry, a plus if you like their family, and even better if they like yours too. But for your original family and the new addition to get on so well… Well, that pretty much rocks. Jealous much? \

Sadly, our families like each other maybe a little too much.

This year LT Fromage and I are staying in the Little Apple for Turkey Day, so we planned to host one side of the family. Yes, only one side.

When it’s just LT Fromage and I in the house, it seems like a mansion with its 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. If we throw in 4 parents, 4 siblings and a brother-in-law, plus their combined 3 dogs, well, the space would close in quickly. I’m not even sure we’d have enough hot water for everyone to shower on a daily basis. We couldn’t possibly invite them all, and in small print include “Daily shower not guaranteed”. So we didn’t. We picked the side that hadn’t yet been out to visit, and asked them to keep their travel plans quiet, which they did, but then this conversation happened.

Family 1: “So we were thinking, since the kids aren’t coming back for Thanksgiving, we should get together anyway! Would you guys join us?”

Family 2: “Uhm. Thank you so much! That sounds wonderful! I’m actually not sure what we’re doing quite yet… Can I confirm later this week?”

Family 2 to Fromages:What do we tell them?!?”

What did we do? The only thing we could do, we invited everyone. All 9 of them (minus the dogs, we had to draw the line somewhere).

Of course, being fairly newlywed with no kids, we haven’t accumulated enough place settings, utensils or cookware for this situation. Solution: BYOP – Bring your own place setting. And forget sitting at the table, because it only seats 4. Hello, living room furniture! May you survive this day wearing no cranberry sauce.

This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for my 2 families. 9 people who are stellar enough to come out early to help cook, bringing pots and pans and their own dishes and not their dogs. Above all, to be laid back enough to make this week a whole lot of fun instead of a headache.

(PS: Who wouldn’t stress about cleaning the house with all those people coming? I did myself a favor and hired a housekeeper. Best $67 I’ve ever spent on services provided by a woman I found on craigslist… Wait… That sounded really wrong…)

7 comments:

  1. hahaha WOW you are going to have a HOUSE FULL!!! I love having Thanksgiving with my parents though =) Sounds like it will be tons of fun!

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  2. My husband and I just had our first "Who's side are we having Thanksgiving with this year" fight. Combining families would have made things eternally easier. Sigh.

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  3. Ah yes, the politics of marriage and families. I know it well after eleven years. Just be glad they don't randomly show up without warning. Drunk. With a burned Christmas ham that's just spent 12 hours being transported from Memphis. They usually wait until after you've had kids to do that though.

    So, now that I've completely terrified you, Happy Thanksgiving! And thanks for following! I'm following you back. Mostly because I'm a big fan of cheese.

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  4. I've always contemplated hiring someone to help with the cleaning..but never done it! Kudos to you for going through with it.

    You are a lucky gal, to have your family get together so well.

    P.S. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I enjoy getting to know other bloggers, and invite you to come back again! I will be sure to visit you as well!

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  5. Having someone else clean your house is wonderful! I have my housecleaner come on a regular basis and would work extra to be able to keep her. It frees up so much time to do the things you enjoy doing too. Enjoy both families at Thanksgiving! It's such a blessing when everyone can get along. Thanks for visiting my blog. I'll be stopping by yours too!

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  6. Gini, thanks for the follow! And the nightmares. ;)

    I am in love with the idea of a housekeeper! There are a few things I think are worth paying for: Bathing the dogs, mowing the lawn and cleaning bathrooms. We already utilize the checkbook for the first two, and I'm pretty sure we'll be keeping this housekeeper on the books now too!

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  7. Thanks for stopping by my blog! It sounds like your Thanksgiving will be eventful, if nothing else :)

    And as to your Twitter post - check wikipedia - they are the all-knowing source. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

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Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it's not like this, compulsive, need, to be liked. Like my need to be praised. - Michael Scott, "The Office"

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