As the old saying goes, leftovers, laundry and house guests start to smell after three days. There may be a general rule in there someplace when it comes to offering your home as a place for out of town guests to stay. Even though they may be family, or a friend that you don't get to see very often, it isn't always a good idea to have these people living with you for any undetermined length of time.
We all have our own ways of living. Though we might have come from the same family, been raised exactly the same, with identical habits and values, something changes when we all leave home and set up our own family and way of doing things. By being on our own, we are now able to let our own personalities shine, unlike we could when we were living under our parents strict rules. Sometimes we start to let some of those rules lax as we go through our daily, busy lifestyles.
What do you do when your once favorite brother or sister, or in-laws, drop in for a visit and leave a subtle hint that they should leave to get a room at the nearest hotel or motel? Of course your first instinct is to say they are very much welcome to stay in your spare bedroom. After all, that's what a spare room is for. There is also the added benefit that they will be saving money by staying with you, for free, as hotels can be quite costly, especially if they'll be in town for a few days.
The first day goes extremely well. Being they don't have to leave at a specific time, you are able to catch up on all the news, find out what they've been doing, how their life is going. You have a nice dinner together, maybe watch a movie, play a game of cards and enjoy their company. The first night will probably end a little early, as they may have traveled a long way, driving for hours on the highway. They will probably want to get some sleep.
The second day may even go equally as well. You may catch in on some sites of the city together, revisit places and people they haven't seen in a while. All in all, it's a full and busy day of spending quality time together.
You are now heading into the third day of company. You are running out of things to talk about, and you realize that your own schedule has been put on hold for two days already. Household chores are starting to pile up, and/or you have to get back to work. It's getting harder to squeeze in the time for visiting. You are not the one on vacation. You are beginning to wonder why you didn't let them stay at a hotel. You begin to wonder when they plan on going home or continue on with their journey to visit other relatives.
Not only is your own laundry piling up, but now there is "their" laundry to do. You might even find that they have been raiding your refrigerator during the wee hours of the night, taking that last piece of leftovers you were going to take for lunch, or that they've left the television blaring as they drifted off to sleep, keeping you awake throughout the night. Of course too, there is the dilemma regarding shower time. They've used up all the hot water and left damp towels strewn all over the bathroom.
Now they've parked themselves in your living room when you planned to do the vacuuming. Your regimented schedule has now gone out of whack and you realize that if this goes on any longer, your entire week will be off kilter, not to mention, fraying your nerves a little more each day. Do you ask them how long they planned to stay? Would that be terribly rude? You are now walking on eggshells, as you don't want to appear unkind, but let's face it, they just don't live the same kind of home lifestyle as you do anymore. It's easy enough to put up with them for 2 or 3 days, but anything after that is a bit iffy. Still, you don't want to alienate them from the family. You would hope that there could be future visits, possibly even them exchanging the favor some day. How does one deal with such a dilemma and still keep good relationships in tact?
Firstly, is it that important that you get back to your regular routine so quickly? Maybe "you" are the problem, and being a bit selfish in order to get your home and lifestyle back the way it usually is. After all, you know they haven't come to stay with you indefinitely. It's only a temporary thing while they're on vacation. They will have to get back home eventually. Can you just grin and bear it for as long as it lasts, which won't be forever? Putting up with a few inconveniences isn't all that difficult if it maintains peace within the family.
You could possibly suggest that they enjoy an evening out by themselves. Explain that this way they can do as they please without having you tag along. This will give you a bit of a breather for either some peace and quiet or to get a few of those chores caught up while they're gone.
If you must endure yet another day of their presence, you yourself might decide upon leaving the house for a while. Do some shopping at a leisurely pace. Try to use this time to catch up on the chores that require leaving the home, such as banking, paying the bills, getting a few groceries. When you return, you should be well refreshed and ready for the next round of chatter and time visiting.
Just remember, with possibly a little chuckle in your heart and a smile on your face, that you too have been, or might be the company. As much as you think you might have been the perfect house guest, you too probably grated on your host's nerves. We all live differently from everyone else. We all have our own particular habits and quirks, that might cause others to sigh, waiting for us to just go home already! Grin and bear it, and enjoy the time spent together. Make a point of doing things that are fun, so that you are not apt to dwell on the inconvenience of these intruders. They WILL go home eventually.
As well, by doing so, you can be assured that they will be remarking on what a wonderful host you were and the marvelous time they had visiting. That is something that you can feel proud of yourself for.