House Monkey

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

My siblings and I have coined a term for who we become during the holidays when we are at home. The term is, "house monkey." It is commonly used in our family in the following way: "Dude, when are you getting home to be a house monkey with me?!" This translates to: "Dude, when are you getting home so that we can sit around in our pajamas playing on our computers and eat loads of junk food together?!" I think it was actually my mom who first called us house monkeys. At first we were slightly offended, but then we realized that it was hilarious (not to mention true) and we embraced the name ourselves.

When it's super snowy outside, below freezing, and we have nowhere to be, we prefer to lounge around inside, cracking jokes and sharing funny YouTube videos and only brave the elements in order to let the dogs outside once in a while. Seeing as how all of the kids in my family are still in school in one form or another, it is always a treat to descend into the lazy realm of house monkey life together. We are a driven, regimented bunch in general, which often leads to excessive studying/working and then usually to an educational burnout. It is for this reason that we are such exceptional house monkeys, especially on school breaks.

Once we had a contest to see who could last the longest without showering or changing their clothes. I won. If you think going 4 days in the same pajamas with no shower is gross, you would be correct! These days we keep the outfits changing and the bathing daily, thankfully. I am grateful that I have a family that I love hanging out with. It makes the time spent together during the holidays pretty awesome.

My dad gets to be a house monkey the least, due to his work schedule. We are so appreciative of his hard work, but it's hard to see him drive off in the dark morning hours and return long after the sun has set. I wish he could enjoy more of our house monkey days with us. My mom is also required to break the "house monkey code" quite a lot to run errands and see to it that everything in the house runs smoothly. My parents have worked hard to provide their kids with a comfortable home and loving family. They are outstanding people.

I hope when I have a family some day that I can provide for them just like my parents provided for us. I want to raise kids who work hard and can count on having plenty of house monkey time at home during the holidays.

Long live house monkeys!

Love,
Charlotte