Q & A: Sharing a hotel bedroom with Mother-in-Law
Q: Over Thanksgiving, there will be one night where my husband and I and my mother-in-law will be staying in a suite in a hotel. My mother in law (who I basically like very much) will have the bedroom, and my husband and I will be on the fold out couch in the living room. Is there anything my husband and I can do to help us feel like we have our own space and maintain our serenity in that suite situation?
Thank you so much!
A: by Terah Kathryn Collins
Blessedly, it is just one night! I think we can put up with just about anything for a night…. I do wonder why 2 people are on the fold-out couch and one is in the bed…. I’m sure you have your reasons. And if the bathroom is in the bedroom, there’s working that out too….
The best approach would be to just call it a slumber party where typical privacy preferences are suspended for the night and you enjoy being super-casual together.
As with any hotel stay, bring along a few things that help to create a homey atmosphere, like candles, your own pillowcases, etc. (I wrote a chapter about this in my book, The Western Guide to Feng Shui, Room by Room) Also, a plug-in nightlight for the bathroom can be helpful.
May your sleep-over be lots of fun!
Terah
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I love the slumber party idea–it would work for me and my family…having shared many a communal hotel room across Europe one year with my then ten year old son, my parents and myself. To create that atmosphere, we used to call out, after the lights were out–"Eleven o'clock and all's well!", or whatever the time was by whomever's watch. Or we would do the "goodnight. Moon" routine, each one calling out what they had most enjoyed during the day–"Goodnight, Roman Colloseum!", "goodnight, Alps!"
This seemed to be a way to create that party atmosphere, and lighten the mood, for the inevitable bumps against the furniture whenever someone used the communal bathroom later on! "Oops, it's the night watchman, here–two a.m. and all's well!"
Have fun!