Muffins with Mom – When teens bring company home

Friends

Do you have rules at your house about your kids bringing company home? Most of the time I’m pretty relaxed about my teen boys having company (as long as I know the person, their parents, where they live and so on).  After a recent episode at our house, I made it a point to stress another rule –THE HOUSE MUST BE CLEAN BEFORE COMPANY COMES.

After hanging out one evening, my boys came home…with a friend. I was upstairs sitting at the desk top computer when I heard my oldest son yell up the dark stairway, “Ma, Jessie is coming in for a few minutes.”

I responded with, “okay.” As soon as the word was out of my mouth, panic set in. I remembered that the boys had not cleaned the house yet. I yelled back to my son, “Don’t let him past the living room. You have not cleaned up yet.”

The sound of footsteps were getting closer to me as I heard my son say, “We can just keep the lights off.”

“Well, maybe you should also blindfold him. You have clutter everywhere,” I said.

In addition to the house revealing clutter, I was donned in my informal leisure wear – flannel pajamas and my hair tied up with a scarf like Aunt Jemima. I greeted Jessie with a muffled hello from behind a closed door.

When company comes home with my boys, I have told them that I must be given a warning. We have house rules about having company over, but I think we are going to need to revise them.

What has been your experience with company coming to visit?