When we show up at the door of a kind relative who asked us to come stay with them for the weekend (or the door of an even kinder relative who didn’t mind when we invited ourselves over for the weekend) I cringe.
Five people and an indeterminate amount of animals pile out of our truck and head to the house with smiles and hugs and an inordinate capacity to cause havoc. I don’t think my family is extraordinarily messy or unruly, but neither are we neat and calm. We rush the house while cheerfully saying hello and unload our mountain of “stuff” that we’ve brought with us.
This weekend in our almost-annual winter trip to Michigan to visit my aunt and uncle we brought the five of us, one dog, and 22 pairs of footwear for all our winter related activities.
When you have unloaded 22 pairs of footwear from your vehicle and moved them into your kind and unsuspecting relatives home, I’m pretty sure that’s when the scale tilts to weekend invasion.
We invade and we try to use manners but we eat lots, leave a trail of jackets, hats, mittens, lost toys and markers wherever we land and that’s not even the worst of it.
The worst of it is the toilet paper. No, we don’t bring our own toilet paper (We probably should but since I can’t keep it in stock at home I’m not about to start traveling with it). We use other people’s toilet paper just like normal people. Except that we use lots of it because four of us are girls and three of us have no concept of the amount of paper necessary to use the necessary and all four of us are befuddled by the thick pillowy sheets that others use as toilet paper. You see, at home we are a one ply family. That’s right, we use toilet paper that most would only deem fit for a government institution or a sketchy gas station bathroom because septic tanks and little girls. I am sure it is possible to teach young girls to regulate the amount of toilet paper they use but I’ve always just been so relieved that they actually USE it and the accompanying toilet that I haven’t bothered. Instead, to prevent things like this happening we buy terrible one ply toilet paper so that even ridiculous wads of it won’t clog up the pipes and the septic. Now this is all very fine for our own home, but please remember, we just invaded a relative’s home. My relatives, being my relatives, either have septic systems of their own, old plumbing or both. Now imagine, you are used to using toilet paper that comes off the roll in see through sheets, you reach over and yank a big handful off to use. But, joy of all joys, it’s soft and thick and pillowy and now you have a giant armful of it and oh… this is why nobody’s been able to flush the toilet all weekend.
If septic systems could cringe I wouldn’t be the only one internally quivering as we all pile out of the truck on the next visit to the relatives.
Behind the Willows 
You crack me up ! what a funny posting! I love your writing style. thanks for sharing.
Happy to share about my family’s toilet paper use anytime. Glad you enjoyed hearing about it! 😉
Haha, but we love having you visit anyway!
So says you… I wonder how your dad feels about his spetic system, pipes, clogged toilets… bathroom floods that go into the basement…. gee, maybe I shouldn’t list it all out like that…
I know your relative that you “invaded” this weekend, and I can tell you: shoes, jackets, pet, toilet paper…all of it….He enjoyed your visit and was very excited about your arrival ❤️ He’s a great relative to have 🙂
I’m enjoying reading your blogs. You have a sense of humor very very similar to your uncles! ❤️
Thank you! ❤ We all like our visits it's too bad they can't be a little more often! 🙂
They will grow out of it …. won’t they? 😀
One hopes. One hopes… 😉
I just loved this story. I remember as a child doing the same with aunts and uncles in Sturgeon Bay. Door County!! I am puzzled…..who is OFG?
My Uncle has been calling himself “The OFG” for a few years now. Old Fat Guy… his words not mine! 😀
It’s a toilet paper post! I love it.
My second… And that’s why when people ask me what I blog about I get sort of stuck in my answer! 😀
My house is not kid or pet friendly, I am far too ocd for that. LOL But back in the day….
Well, if you ever see a big SUV exploding with footwear break down in front of your place draw the blinds and lock the door! 😀
We both enjoyed every second of it !!!
So did we! We always have a great time when we visit! Next year we are going to order more snow though! 🙂
As I have often told my beautiful blonde wife when we visit family, “After three days I become an invasive species.”
😀
According to you or them? 🙂
This made me laugh 😂 sounds like fun times when the Behind the Willows family comes over to stay! My daughter does the same with toilet paper but since there’s only one of her and 2 of us, I think we even put the toilet paper usage at our place 😂😂
Yeah… when the kids out number you there are all sorts of unforeseen consequences! 😀