When we got back home after our Samoan holiday a couple of weeks ago, there were a few things around the place that our house sitters (an assortment of offspring) had neglected to do to my satisfaction.
For example, the recycling hadn’t been put out, so that the house has been overflowing with non glass recycling ever since (mostly beer cans, lets be honest). I suppose it’s true what they say: if you want something done properly, you have to do it yourself. The corollary of this truism, of course, is that you can never delegate anything or ever go away on holiday again if perfection is so important to you. I think this is the same trap that mothers (or primary caregivers) fall into sometimes, when they won’t allow a father to do his style of parenting, because it isn’t up to her standard. The dad feels disempowered, and no longer offers to be involved, and the mother is overworked and feels trapped. And in fact, just because the care offered by the dad (or house-sitter) isn’t exactly what you’d like, isn’t it quite possible that it’s just as good? Maybe you aren’t perfect after all? For myself, if it’s a choice between ‘running a tight ship’ AKA being anally retentive (a fabulous phrase that nobody uses anymore – why?), and being able to go away on holidays, there’s no question. Adios, amigos!
