Having just made it through another block of school holidays with a couple of long weekends thrown in, many of us were afforded the added bonus of house guests coming to stay. It is so lovely having family stay or vice versa, hearing about what everyone has been up to and what plans they have coming up. This behaviour occurs while doing a lot of sitting around, consuming an abundance of sugary and/or alcoholic beverages, and enough food to feed an army. A bit like cabin fever without physically being locked in, but all the same, possibly feeling a little trapped in your surroundings. A friendly laugh turns into a fake laugh followed by a grimace, and an understanding sigh changes to a grunt. This is not due to being rude, its because hosting family for a longer period can challenge even the most patient of people. Friendly conversation usually starts with initial excitement upon the house guest’s arrival and a genuine interest in how and where they have been, however, one can only keep up that façade for so long.

It starts with the general chit-chat, that might look something like this –