How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)...

I could have wrote the script for this sitcom. If I had it might not have gotten canned. There are two things (okay well more than two) that my parents remember clear as day. 1. Me telling them at the grown age of 5 or 6 that I am going to live with them for the rest of my life and 2. the time I told my Dad that I was pregnant with my now 9 year old and my Mom responded by saying that as long as I was not married I was welcome to stay home. After marriage it is my husbands job to put a roof over my head. Now that I am divorced and home again they remind me of both often. It has become a joke between us and every time they don't agree with something the adult me does I laugh and say... FOREVER & EVER I WILL LIVE WITH YOU STILL!

The reality is that quite frankly this is what works for me, my children and my work and business schedules at the moment. I know people thing "OMG Becky look at her...she is still at home with her kids living with her parents!" but I'm not totally unhappy with the situation. If I wasn't at home who would get my kids off the school bus and in the house safely, who would provide my children with a warm greeting and a hug, or help them with homework until I get home or start dinner, or care for them better than I would myself? I'm well aware that I am a spoiled brat and get over on my parents... I have no shame and yes even at my age moving back home with your parents is like being 16 again with all the rules bu who the hell am I kidding? When the hell did I ever follow my parents rules?! I was a rebel without a cause LOL.

Here are a few things my parents don't think I know or notice:

• My Mom likes for people to think she has dropped the OCD but she hasn't...she just does it when we are all sleeping. What does this mean? It means that my mom will wash ALL the laundry in the house because she can't sleep knowing something is dirty. This also holds true for dirty dishes.
• My Dad takes the money I give him for rent and store it in an account only to turn it around and give it back to me.
• My Mom tells my kids stories about how bad I was so the kids can do the same thing to me. What is the point of this? My mom likes to interject when I reprimand the kids so she can say "Now, now, now...don't you remember you did that as a child and I didn't discipline you!" (She NEVER remembers disciplining myself or my siblings).
• My Dad orders movies on the Comcast and thinks I don't check my bank account enough to notice that he puts the money in my bank account to cover the movies.
• My mom has told all her church about my chakra jewelry so they can order their balancing stones from my website...but then has me send out her mass emails to people with the same email that ordered from me :)
• My Dad likes to show Kimora pictures of me when I was her age and despite the 80's attire, 80's hair and everything around me screaming 80's and early 90's Kimora believes it is her and makes up a story about how she remembers! She is totally my twin.
• My Mom thinks she is a pro at reverse psychology when it really boils down to the fact that I really was listening the first time.
• My Dad checks my tire pressure and oil levels even though I took automotive class in high school and he taught me auto care basics because he didn't want daughters that were dependent on a man for anything.
• My parents are the best role models EVER and despite what they think they know, my fiance and I are proud to have such an amazing example of what marriage is!

We clash too and I'll remind my parents how they wished...or cursed me by saying they hope I have children just like myself. Then I literally laugh out loud and remind them that grandparents are the built in babysitters full of unconditional love. In the end the kids win and I love most every moment. I have friends who don't have their parents around to see their grand babies grow up or be involved at all. It is a blessing and I am making it a point to enjoy it while we can.

I realize this option might not be ideal for a lot of people but a last resort option. In that case here are some key things for you:

• Keep telling yourself "Rent-free is the way to be!" and tell yourself very very often!
• Pick up a hobby like photography or walk/running at the local park because it will get you out the house.
• Make a family meal for your parents once in a while. They will appreciate it.
• Learn to like your Moms small gossip (even though she will never admit that she is gossiping).
• Learn the art of changing the subject!!!! Learn it well.
• Do things such as apartment/house hunting or looking for a better paying job that remind you that the current living arraignment is only temporary.
• Tell yourself you're living rent-free ( you can't tell yourself enough)
• TELL YOUR PARENTS THANK YOU!