There is nothing like being 21 years old, having been out of the house and on your own for four plus years, and having your parents visit you for a few days. I come from a big family; two brothers and two sisters so never at any point in my childhood did I have my parent’s complete attention. Well, my parents have been here for two nights and one day so far and I have had ALL their attention focused on me. Wow. Any child that feels like their parents are neglecting them in any way, trade places with me for one day and you will think otherwise. Trust me they are doing you a huge favor. This is the same reason why I will never have just one kid. I know that my children will have to have strength in numbers in order to survive 18 years living under my roof.

The funny thing about being on your own is that you get used to having things the way you like them. Today, my parents and I went to the grocery store. Not only did I start off on the wrong foot by forgetting the envelope with the three hundred different coupons for four different kinds of tampons and six different kinds of laundry detergent she brought me from home but I actually expected to visit the isles I wanted to and avoiding my mother’s notorious habit to walk down every isle of the grocery store; including the gardening isle. I don’t even have a single plant in my apartment much less a yard!! Anyway when we got back to my apartment we started unloading the groceries. My mother, whom as I grow older I am learning I am really her clone, immediately began putting the groceries away like she would do it at home. Knowing patience isn’t my strongest suit I sat back and let her do her thing but the second she was done I was sprinting to the refrigerator to rearrange things the way I like them. Why? Who knows. I think it is because I have nothing better to do than obsess over where the cream cheese is and whether my strawberries were facing the correct way in the bin.

Other than getting used to the little things changing which you take for granted when you’re on your own, I was just awaiting the first, “When Kayte was a little girl” story to surface to my parent’s recollection. It didn’t take long. When we were at dinner tonight at the Cheesecake Factory with a friend of mine my parents lovingly recalled the story of me and my pet pig Penelope. When I was eight years old I bought a pig to raise for our local 4-H Club. I spent several months waking up early in the morning before school to feed my pig, to clean her pin, to practice walking her with the cane, and falling in love with her. When the time came to take Penelope to the auction, I did my job. I washed her, showed her, and sold her. At the end of the day when we were getting ready to go home my parents couldn’t find me. Guess where I was. Yes folks, I was in the pig pen with Penelope curled up beside her with my arms around her neck bawling like a baby. My dad came and got me and put me on his knee and explained to me how we knew this was going to happen. And, as an eight year old I tried to explain my logic. I said, “I know Dad but I didn’t think I was going to fall in love with her.” So they managed to peel me away from Penelope and I never again participated in any 4-H event. It was so sad I practically started crying sitting there in the restaurant. And there Danny was, I’m sure wanting to roll on the ground laughing at this 21 year old woman who was getting teared up over a pig named Penelope.

This is why you’ve got to love having your parents come to visit. They remind you of your childhood and of how it seemed dramatic at the time but now you just wish that all you had to worry about was leaving a pig you fed for a few months all while managing to embarrass you in front of your friends!!!!