Mom and Dad are on there way here for a week full of fun with (they say), my greatest gift ever for them: their grandkid.

This means lots of attention and help with my little guy, and lots of house projects getting done. 

It also means hearing for the umpteenth time how my husband and I should be weeding my garden a bit more often and I should really be cleaning my refrigerator coils on a regular basis.

As the youngest child in the family, somehow I revert back to being told what to do whenever family is all  together. Suddenly, all over again, I have to argue for my rights, convince others that yes, this is the way I fold my bath towels, and no, my child doesn’t need to strengthen his upper-body skills by climbing on the furniture. When I was a kid, my parents were soooo strict; I got away with absolutely nothing. Somehow the rules have changed for the grandson. What’s up with that?

But this time, I’m standing strong. When I say no, I’m not going to explain myself. And when they ask Why? they are going to get the same answer I got when I was a kid.

Because I said so.