Unto thy neighbor

I think I liked it better when my family was apathetic. I can do apathetic. All this caring for others, and putting strangers before yourself is out of my league.

My parents informed me last week that we're hosting 2 students from a local college over Thanksgiving weekend. They can't afford to go home, so my parents will be the pseudo family and give them a place to stay, and pay for their food. The catch? The "place to stay" is my bedroom.

Let's recap shall we. I live with my parents, in my brother's old room, which was decorated when he was 6 (aka 1986). I fall asleep with pound puppies on the wall and 3 cats fighting me for space on my twin bed, while my brother enjoys the bigger bedroom with his own TV, Computer, and fridge. I can't use the bathroom my dad put in for me and my sister, because my brother dominates it and only cleans it when things start growing in there. I go to family dinners where I am responsible for paying my own way, even if that means I have to add it to my tab, which my dad keeps prominently displayed in our kitchen so that I always know how in debt I am, while my brother can show up, eat, order dessert, and leave without dropping a dime.

And now, 2 strangers are coming, I'm getting usurped from my room and they're getting the royal treatment. I will be sleeping in the computer room, which has no door, on an air mattress, with all of my clothing in a basket in the corner.

At first this morning when my dad said they'd be in my room, I put forth an adamant 'no'. He initially phrased it like he was asking my permission, but then laid into the guilt trip heavily when I refused. "We're trying to do something nice for someone, and sometimes that means sacrificing our comforts, etc etc."

I'm sure we'll have time to discuss it over Thanksgiving Dinner, where I'll probably have to fork over money for their 2 dinners as well as mine. Because what he really meant by we have to sacrifice is me.