Have you ever experienced that mixed feeling of excitement and anxiety at the same time? Well, that's exactly how I feel at the moment. My mother is coming for a week to look after the two boys while the childminder is on holidays.
This is great right ? After all, I consider myself lucky to have a mother that is still able to travel to do me a big favour like that. She's coming for the mid-term break so my husband will be able to sleep in the morning, I won't have to rush after work to pick the kids up. She will take them to the beach, the playground or the church ( yes, that's one of her favourite spots in the village, she's not far from an Irish mammy, is she ?!). She will obviously help us out by buying bits and pieces for them and for us.
Actually, I suspect Tesco revenue is going to slightly increase while she's here. From some bizarre reason she loves hanging out in Tesco: " Look, they even have croissants, and baguettes! and the staff have French names, isn't it funny? There is Colette, Yvonne, Sophie... " These are just universal names if you ask me... but hey , I don't want to spoil her happiness... And then she moans about the stuff she can't find, like compote (fruit purée). That's because we're not in France, mom... She claims she doesn't speak English, but I suspect it's not true. Once she asked a staff member where was the compote, or if they had any and she understood there wasn't. Another time she went to the church and told the Parish priest her son was also a priest ( I'm not making this up, my brother really is a priest). And then she says she doesn't really speak English... Yeah, right !
This is great right ? After all, I consider myself lucky to have a mother that is still able to travel to do me a big favour like that. She's coming for the mid-term break so my husband will be able to sleep in the morning, I won't have to rush after work to pick the kids up. She will take them to the beach, the playground or the church ( yes, that's one of her favourite spots in the village, she's not far from an Irish mammy, is she ?!). She will obviously help us out by buying bits and pieces for them and for us.
Actually, I suspect Tesco revenue is going to slightly increase while she's here. From some bizarre reason she loves hanging out in Tesco: " Look, they even have croissants, and baguettes! and the staff have French names, isn't it funny? There is Colette, Yvonne, Sophie... " These are just universal names if you ask me... but hey , I don't want to spoil her happiness... And then she moans about the stuff she can't find, like compote (fruit purée). That's because we're not in France, mom... She claims she doesn't speak English, but I suspect it's not true. Once she asked a staff member where was the compote, or if they had any and she understood there wasn't. Another time she went to the church and told the Parish priest her son was also a priest ( I'm not making this up, my brother really is a priest). And then she says she doesn't really speak English... Yeah, right !
Now, the other side of the coin. The first thought when I know she's coming over is always "She's going to clean everything again...and tell me what is not clean in my apartment...and ask me why I didn't clean it..." She's a bit obsessed with cleaning as you can see. Not that the place is dirty or anything, she will just always find something. I swear, if she opens the drawers in the living-room, she will have a heart attack :" Oh mon dieu, what a mess! On Sunday, you and I will spend the whole day sorting everything out in your drawers, and the cupboards and everything, OK?". Mmmh... No ! I have other plans thank you. She may faint even before reaching the drawers, when she sees I no longer have a filter coffee machine: "Non, non... I'm not drinking the instant coffee. Let's go buy a coffee machine now".
I'm happy she's coming. The kids will be happy to see her. We can spend hours chatting and laughing and she always have good advice. The worst thing? She's almost always right... One week is enough though. I will be happy to drop her back to the airport as well.
So what do you think, do you feel the same when your parents are coming over ? Do they get on your nerves after a while or do you wish they would stay for longer?
I'm happy she's coming. The kids will be happy to see her. We can spend hours chatting and laughing and she always have good advice. The worst thing? She's almost always right... One week is enough though. I will be happy to drop her back to the airport as well.
So what do you think, do you feel the same when your parents are coming over ? Do they get on your nerves after a while or do you wish they would stay for longer?
