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CallaFirestormBW -> RE: That first home visit... (1/12/2009 2:40:37 PM)
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There are some things that we are pretty anal-retentive about. Meds are one of them, and toys are another. My general policy is that if we're going to have someone coming to or staying in the house that we -generally trust- but haven't seen in a while or who only comes around occasionally (including people like the housekeeping service or the plumber, etc.), or someone new that we're considering as a new potential member of the household, we put up anything that might be 'tempting' -- prescriptions, adult toys... we even harvest the ripe or near-ripe fruits off our garden plants, since we've had people who had legitimate reason to be in our house, and who were bonded professionals, or whom we knew and trusted, clean some of the plants in our garden -bare- on their way out. It's not that we wouldn't -share-, but some people seem to be under the impression that, because you've invited them in, that gives them carte blanche to make use of, borrow, or abscond with things that they find that might make their lives easier and more pleasant... and, without any malice intended... it just seems like, for some reason, and in some individuals, the idea of -asking- just doesn't really creep into their forebrains.
Because I tend to have some casual play-partners for particular activities, we've also set aside areas of our home that are more... visitor-friendly. Folks can pretty much touch anything we leave out in those areas, and if something is damaged or comes up missing, we're not going to have a freak-fest about it.
One thing that taught us how to manage our private things vs. the things we don't care if visitors mess with was having teenagers. These young adults have this peculiar idea that, because you gave birth to them and are providing their shelter, clothing, and food, that anything -you- have, they're entitled to as well... and feel no compulsion to ask first... they just -take-. No matter how many times we corrected them, and despite earstwhile attempts to inculcate proper manners by multiple methods, they were constantly "borrowing" things that we didn't particularly want to share. Even little things, like special cheeses or something that I'd buy for myself, knowing that NOBODY else in the house claimed to like it... and then going for it later and finding it gone, only to have one of the teens whine "but I wanted something -different-, and it had been there for 5 whole days and YOU hadn't eaten it..." That taught us, pretty quickly, about things like 'borrow-proofing' our home, and we use that same technique when we have visitors whom we know, but who we don't really have enough experience with yet to know whether they have the same sense of proper 'visitor decorum' and good manners that we use when -we- visit people.
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