The Flanders and the Analtyns go on holiday

The Flanders and the Analtyns are spending a week together on holiday at the end of the year. It should be fun. 

 

The Analtyns (us) are very anal (hence the name). The Flanders (my sister's family) not so much.

 

A while back my sister was thinking about buying a holiday home, and for approximately 0,5 seconds she considered whether we (her family and mine) should invest in one together. ‘It should be fun, you can go one weekend, we can go the next’. She soon came to her senses and realized it would be an unmitigated DISASTER.

 

If Marko and I had a holiday home, it will be spotless. The furniture would be in excellent condition, the place would be spick and span when we left. Everything would be in its place, replenished and ready for the next holiday.

 

If Mel and Gary had to have a holiday home, it would be full of hard wearing furniture, probably looking a bit worse for wear. It would be comfy, slightly chaotic, and wonderfully inviting. If you aren’t an Analtyn.

 

It would never, ever work. It wouldn’t be worth risking our relationship to have a joint holiday home. My husband would drive me INSANE. If you think I am uptight, you should see him.  Ok, so our house isn’t exactly like a museum and our kids aren’t what you would describe as the quiet, bookish types, but Marko is very meticulous about his stuff.  He is the type of guy you WANT to buy a used car from, he looks after his stuff really, really well. 

 

I can just imagine us getting there for our weekend and finding a mark on the couch, or no firewood left, or some miniscule scrape or dent somewhere. Not that the Flanders are messy, it is just that they aren’t on the same level of analness as us. There are very few people in the world who are. 

 

No thanks, a week away together is probably just about as much as I can handle.

 

(Rereading this, it sounds like I am saying the Flanders are messy, and that is not true. It is just that my husband is SO anal, that I know he would be moaning to me all the time about things not being perfect and I would be stuck in the middle. NO THANKS!)

Comments

[Tessy]

My husband is Marko's twin. We could never own a holiday home that we rented out or let others use. It would be a disaster.

[june]

I love that you call your sister's family the Flanders...

[Mel Flanders]

Mmmh, we will have to have SERIOUS rules here.
And sprinkle Xanor on Marko's cereal!
(You do know you married a man like Dad, Freud would love you!)

[Kristin]

Luckily, you are smart enough to realize this ahead of time.

[andreaaorr@gmail.com]

i'm confused. what about those kids' room pictures you posted a while back? wasn't the well worn furniture in your home?

[Sarah]

Families are made up of all sorts of personalities, aren't they?! I admire your insight - it's good to know this stuff before you dive into some massive commitment/plan.

[kirstyphysio]

Ha Ha! You and Marko sound just like my sister and brother in law! Despite them having 2 boys, their house permanently looks like a show- home, and all the hand-me -downs that my kids get from them look brand new! Even the clothes! My boys wear their clothes out or rip and stain the knees after about an hour of wear!
Our home is very much lived in - with 3 kids, a dog and 2 cats plus 2 not anal-at-all parents, what do you expect?

[Lena]

I remember the pictures of the garage and fridge...

[Tripsmom]

I am an Analtyn but my husband is a slob - difficuilt combination, and then add 4-year old triplets to make the mix even more interesting. I am usually shouting most of the time about the "mess" and am forever tidying up. I've tried to make my husband an Analtyn but it won't work (yet) - BUT I WILL NOT GIVE UP - I will fight them in the bathroom, I will fight them in the living room, I will fight them in the bedroom, I WILL NOT SURRENDER.....

[sheilah]

I suspect that Mel and family are similar to my family. My house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy.

[tess]

i agree with kristin, great that you all foresaw the disaster ahead of time.
and no, i don't think you were calling mel's family messy at all. didn't come across that way.
xo

[Anna]

Married to an Analtyn too....do I appreciate all those neatly catalogued files and regularly serviced cars!! Being like that (you) is a gift! (a gift I don't seem to have, I am hopelessly messy)

[JuliaKB]

Hm.. it occurs to me that once upon a time you asked for a nickname for your sister's family, and then I thought one up later, and forgot to comment. But seems you found one since. Well, just in case you need a spare one, here's the one I came up with then: No-Worretskies. I can't believe I still remember that that was what I came up with then, but ask me what is on my food shopping list, and it will take a good while. The mystery that is my (swiss cheese) brain. Eh.