When I told people that my parents are here and will be living with me for 5 months, there are two kinds of reactions: Your parents can keep you company and the dinner will be ready when you go home. Isn’t that nice? Or living with parents under the same roof for 5 months? Isn’t it a little too long?
As a matter of fact, my parents’ willingness to stay here for 5 month was a result of having a good time when they first visited US and lived with me for about 3 months. I secretly took pride in it, not only taking good care of them, but more importantly entertaining them. I spent every single spare minute with them, traveling, playing, shopping, and chatting. Hadn’t read one book or written one diary in those 3 months. But I was happy and seeing my parents happy made me happier.
Can I do the same this time? When my parents were taking a nap after lunch, I went to the library. Although having left them a note, I noticed myself being in a hurry, almost running between the book shelves and running towards the car. What if they woke up without seeing me in the house?…I got back home, opened the door, and saw them doing perfectly fine, dad reading newspaper and mom knitting.
I took them to Tyler State Park yesterday. The weather was perfect. We really enjoyed the walk, the sunshine, the breeze, the greenness, the corn field, the creek and the picnic. I know I will still be the helpless “parents pleaser”, but should relax more this time and continue to do things I normally do, maybe less frequently. For example, finish the book I have been reading, organize the remaining pictures from the Italy trip and write the travel journal about Rome.
What I can do better this time are: cook more, bake more, do the housework more, help them observe the culture difference in the daily life and strategically influence my dad reading more books. This list can continue to grow.