I probably have the most unique relationship with my parents. My folks love me and want me to have nice things. Unfortunately, those nice things are subject to opinion, and the one that counts is theirs.
Today is a wonderful example. Last summer, Dad bought me not one, but seven crape myrtle trees to plant at our new house. Last summer, the house hadn't even been selected, much less built and moved into, so buying me trees - especially trees that neither Bernie or myself had approved - was just a bit premature. Lucky for them that Bernie and I don't hate the idea of crape myrtles. We simply have not assigned them a top priority on our "things to do" list.
Now, I am a fundamentally lazy guy. I'll spend weeks 'getting around' to something, then do it, then bask in the glory for a few more weeks before 'getting around' to something else. The pleasure of doing things at a slow pace is something I get off on. I also HATE wasting a weekend on physical labor. Weekends are for fun, not work.
So, after the fence was built (the fence was a gift from my Dad, but we had to put it up ourselves, which I wasn't thrilled with), we had a good place to plant the trees - outside the fence, next to the sidewalk. Unfortunately, after the fence-building experience, I was not crazy with the idea of digging holes in my yard, which appears to be composed of a thin layer of dirt above a neutronium-titanium base, with rocks, gravel, and construction debris filling the gap.
Starting three weeks ago, my Mom starts dropping hints, "When are we going to plant those crape myrtles?". My answer - "How about September?" was not accepted. I tried to brush it off, and managed to procrastinate until today, when I got a call in the morning, "We're coming over to plant those trees." I guess subtle hints don't do it with my folks and the fait accompli was issued.
Therefore, I spent my Saturday digging holes, getting blisters, getting severely sore muscles, and getting guilt from my Mom for allowing my Dad to dig the occasional hole, in order to plant trees that I don't have any enthusiasm for having in the first place. It's blackmail, by the way - If I don't dig a hole fast enough, Dad jumps in and starts doing it, and I catch hell from Mom.
Well, at least it's all done now. I have one day left to relax before going back to work.
Does anyone else have strong-willed parents like this?
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Forced Labor
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5 comments:
I'm sure you'll appreciate the shade and privacy the trees will give you in a few years. As for strong willed parents ... well, let's not even go there. You know, one of the great things about having a kid of your own, is that YOU get to make the rules for once and use the phrase "because I'm your mother and I said so" (I'm so looking forward to saying that at least once!)
Oh yes. Oh, my goodness, yes.
Last summer my mom bought us a screen door for the house...it turns out that installing the door would be a total pain in the butt and would require actual modification of the front of our house and the molding around our front door...thus making it quite ugly.
My husband has not yet installed that door and it's sitting on our front porch right now, the hardware for it scattered about like dandelion seeds in the wind.
Every so often when I talk to my mom she'll ask me a) how hot it is here and b) do we have the screen door up.
Argh! No. We don't.
Update: Since we didn't buy deck furniture fast enough, Mom and Dad did it for us.
Good lord. It seems like they enjoy giving you all of these "nice" things (and I love crepe myrtles -- not something I even knew about before I moved to the South), plus it's nice to get gifts! It's too bad that they feel like they have to pressure you into responding immediately - right now! no! yesterday! - to their suggestions or requests. Just remember: they're doing all of this because they love you. As frustrating as their love can be, from what I read here.
I forgot to mention that during my mom's last visit here, which was around Easter, she got as sick of our dishwasher as we were and bought us a new one as an anniversary present. Our anniversary is June 29.
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