beejayw1
04-14-2003, 04:45 AM
OK, I need to vent.
I have a house. I also have several (clean) cats, some of whom are in the spring shedding cycle. I also have a Labrador Retriever dog. I also work full time and don't have a cleaning service (I'm working on that, actually.) I also was sick off and on since the beginning of February (that horrid stomach bug, and then it turns out that my ulcer was acting up. Things are better now.)
A friend was laid off and is job-hunting. I've had her to visit before, and this past week I invited her to a quilt show near my house. I thought it would be relaxing for her.
My housemate and I both work full time and both haven't felt that great, so the place was untidy. The guest was supposed to arrive late Friday afternoon, so Housemate (HM) thought there would be time to do some last minute sweeping, and change the sheets on the bed, etc.
The guest showed up early.
She came inside, went up to the bathroom. HM went to get a dustpan to do some sweeping in the guest room, and just then the guest called, "Do you have a dustpan? The bathroom floor's a little cruddy!"
I got home, greeted guest and said, "I'm sorry for the untidiness. We've been under the weather for a month, and though we're much better, we weren't able to clean as usual. Since you're a friend, we thought you'd be OK with that."
Now understand: the place is untidy - books out, magazines on the magazine racks, some things not put away - but it is not dirty. Dishes are clean, countertops are clean, utensils and cooking supplies are clean, the bathroom (aside from the 'cruddy' floor - which isn't usual) is clean.
Anyhow, she continued to make remarks. At one point she handed me a box with a pair of earrings that was to be sent to another friend, put a charm bracelet inside that I'd showed her, and said, "You leave things lying around..."
When HM was frying up sausage and was looking for a spatula, the guest said, "You know, if you'd clean in here, you'd be able to find things."
One of my cats has a habit of jumping on the table when we're trying to eat. He gets put on the floor, but it takes repetition.
The guest said, "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but my mother would never want to stay here. She judges people on their tidiness, and she'd never put up with a cat that jumps on the table."
I stared at her, HM got up, and went into the kitchen and started banging things around. I guess my stare must have got through, as well as my saying (between my teeth) "It's a good thing she isn't invited here, isn't it?" My guest said, "Well the rest of the family isn't so bad. But Mom is funny about things."
HM slammed more pots and pans.
I went outside to check on some things in the yard, and my guest came up to me with a piece of lawn ornament that had been hidden by the melting snow until recently. "You need to pick these things up as they come up," she said.
I took it and threw it out. I also told her that I would lead her to the best place to buy gas, and suggested that she might wish to leave soon (I did it nicely; we wanted to go to church, as she knew).
Please take my word for it that my place isn't dirty. It was untidy, and there were reasons for that, but on a bigger point of view, unless the situation is life-threatening, isn't a guest supposed to put up and shut up? Was she ill-bred?
I'll tell you one thing: she is never invited here again, whether or not I'm up to straightening!
So tell me, am I being unreasonable, or was she horribly rude?
I have a house. I also have several (clean) cats, some of whom are in the spring shedding cycle. I also have a Labrador Retriever dog. I also work full time and don't have a cleaning service (I'm working on that, actually.) I also was sick off and on since the beginning of February (that horrid stomach bug, and then it turns out that my ulcer was acting up. Things are better now.)
A friend was laid off and is job-hunting. I've had her to visit before, and this past week I invited her to a quilt show near my house. I thought it would be relaxing for her.
My housemate and I both work full time and both haven't felt that great, so the place was untidy. The guest was supposed to arrive late Friday afternoon, so Housemate (HM) thought there would be time to do some last minute sweeping, and change the sheets on the bed, etc.
The guest showed up early.
She came inside, went up to the bathroom. HM went to get a dustpan to do some sweeping in the guest room, and just then the guest called, "Do you have a dustpan? The bathroom floor's a little cruddy!"
I got home, greeted guest and said, "I'm sorry for the untidiness. We've been under the weather for a month, and though we're much better, we weren't able to clean as usual. Since you're a friend, we thought you'd be OK with that."
Now understand: the place is untidy - books out, magazines on the magazine racks, some things not put away - but it is not dirty. Dishes are clean, countertops are clean, utensils and cooking supplies are clean, the bathroom (aside from the 'cruddy' floor - which isn't usual) is clean.
Anyhow, she continued to make remarks. At one point she handed me a box with a pair of earrings that was to be sent to another friend, put a charm bracelet inside that I'd showed her, and said, "You leave things lying around..."
When HM was frying up sausage and was looking for a spatula, the guest said, "You know, if you'd clean in here, you'd be able to find things."
One of my cats has a habit of jumping on the table when we're trying to eat. He gets put on the floor, but it takes repetition.
The guest said, "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but my mother would never want to stay here. She judges people on their tidiness, and she'd never put up with a cat that jumps on the table."
I stared at her, HM got up, and went into the kitchen and started banging things around. I guess my stare must have got through, as well as my saying (between my teeth) "It's a good thing she isn't invited here, isn't it?" My guest said, "Well the rest of the family isn't so bad. But Mom is funny about things."
HM slammed more pots and pans.
I went outside to check on some things in the yard, and my guest came up to me with a piece of lawn ornament that had been hidden by the melting snow until recently. "You need to pick these things up as they come up," she said.
I took it and threw it out. I also told her that I would lead her to the best place to buy gas, and suggested that she might wish to leave soon (I did it nicely; we wanted to go to church, as she knew).
Please take my word for it that my place isn't dirty. It was untidy, and there were reasons for that, but on a bigger point of view, unless the situation is life-threatening, isn't a guest supposed to put up and shut up? Was she ill-bred?
I'll tell you one thing: she is never invited here again, whether or not I'm up to straightening!
So tell me, am I being unreasonable, or was she horribly rude?