Grr. Just got an e-mail from TCG's stepmother. We are supposed to spend Christmas Day with them, and she just informed me that the house we are spending it at has cats. From previous conversations I get the impression that she doesn't fully believe me when I say that my throat closes up when I am around cats at all. We have yet to spend any holidays with TCG's family for various reasons. I hate to be the bitch who says we can't spend Christmas with them, but at the same time I don't want to spend my Christmas feeling sick or in the emergency room.

Benadryl doesn't help?

Benadryl doesn't help?

It can help a little, but eventually my asthma kicks in.

sj, ugh. I'm sorry. A couple thoughts: 1) can TSG deal directly with her and give her whatfor and ask if it's possible to move the festivities? 2) This might be less fun, but TSG can go there, and you can hang with your family, and then meet up afterward? or 3) just say that you are totally unable to spend time in a house with cats, and maybe you can get together at a non-cat place earlier in the weekend, and make alternate plans for Christmas and the weekend.

Going somewhere that will make you sick, BTW, is SO not an option.

I talked to TCG, and he went immediately in to fix mode, essentially are they willing to put the cats in another room and do a thorough cleaning of their house, so that we can maybe spend an hour or two there. I am not sure I am willing to ask them to do that.

2) This might be less fun, but TSG can go there, and you can hang with your family, and then meet up afterward?

I doubt that he would be willing to go without me, but that might be an option.

Going somewhere that will make you sick, BTW, is SO not an option.

Thanks.

I am not sure I am willing to ask them to do that.

I'd give them the benefit of it and ask--if they are indeed freely willing, they want you there badly enough do to what you consider too much work.

I'm simpatico, sj. Even with benadryl I was getting pretty wheezy at JZ's dad's house after two hours. And he's only got one cat and a huge place.

Deb does a good job of making her place habitable for the cat unenabled. Even before she took out the carpeting and went with the hardwood floors. I think she's extra careful about vacuuming the furniture, which is usually where I get into trouble. People will vacuum their floors for you, but the couch is where I usually get hammered with my allergies.

I'd give them the benefit of it and ask--if they are indeed freely willing, they want you there badly enough do to what you consider too much work.

I think I might have TCG do it. It is his stepmother's niece and I hardly know her at all. I feel bad asking her to do a lot of work when 1. She has young kids and that is why she wants to be home 2. I might still not be able to stay for very long.

I hate always being a problem for everyone.

Thanks for the sympathies, Hec. I try to always sit on a hardwood chair if possible and not to even touch anything like a couch.

It's way easier than I thought it would be, but I expect it would be next to impossible if you don't have your own washer/dryer.

My great great aunt Chachi gave all the new Mothers in my family three months of diaper service as a present. She was awesome.