A relative of ours decided to move from the countryside to the city and temporarily stayed with us. As it turned out, the stay was anything but temporary.
My husband and I grew up in the same small village. After we got married, we made the big move to London. We rented a flat, found steady jobs, took out a mortgage to buy a place of our own, and eventually started a family. Really, were an ordinary family, and theres no need to go into too much detail.
Our relatives in the countryside still visit us quite frequently. Of course, we try our best to maintain good relationships with our family, but
Let me tell you about a recent situation that has left my husband and me both a bit put out.
My mothers cousin, Susan, decided she wanted to relocate to the city and asked if she could stay with us until she found a proper job and her own flat. Naturally, we agreed.
On her first day, she baked a lovely apple pie for us. Sadly, that was the highlight.
For the first week, Susan would head out job hunting every morning, return by afternoon, then lounge about watching television for hours. The job searches became less frequent before stopping altogether. She would sit glued to light entertainment all day and then finish off whatever was left in the fridge at night.
She even began encroaching on our daughter Emmas room, lining her clothes along Emmas shelves. Whenever we asked how the job hunt was going, she replied that she hadnt found anything suitable, and she wasnt about to slave away for peanuts.
Soon, she was giving instructions to the whole familydictating what we should cook for supper, telling us what medicines to buy, and just generally making herself at home.
We hoped she would find a place to go soon, but our hopes were dashed. One afternoon, Emma came home from school and Susan barked at her:
Keep your shoes on, and pop down to the shop for some sanitary towels for me.
I was speechless. I told Emma she wasnt going anywhere, and made it quite clear to Susan how I felt about her demands. She then shouted at me:
Go yourself, youre spoiling that child!
When my husband heard that, he packed her bags on the spot and told her to leave immediately, otherwise hed toss her things out the window. She left that very evening.
Since then, not a single relative has called to ask to stay over, but we sense that this quiet spell wont last forever.
Theres no place for taking advantage of your familys kindness. Its important to remember that gratitude and consideration should always go hand in handotherwise, even the closest bonds can be strained beyond repair.
