There's an old expression that "guests and fish start to stink after three days." I have found this to be entirely true! In fact, over Thanksgiving a few years ago, I visited a dear friend in Franklin, TN. She had shoulder surgery just two weeks before and I offered to come up for the holiday and cook Thanksgiving dinner, help her around the house, and catch up.
When she asked how long I was staying, I said I'd arrive on Wednesday and leave on Saturday. She was a bit disappointed I wouldn't be there longer, but I remembered the "rule," and stuck to my plan.
The Wednesday I arrived, I took her to physical therapy, and made a grocery store trip for Thanksgiving and to fill in a few gaps in her pantry. We went out to dinner and had a great time catching up.
Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), I cooked up a feast, spending about four hours in the kitchen making a healthy menu of Cornish game hens, French green beans with slivered almonds, Italian roasted sweet potatoes with rosemary, balsamic Portobello mushrooms, baby carrots in Grand Marnier, butter, and brown sugar, and, of course, pumpkin pie with a praline crunch crust.
It was great fun and stocked her refrigerator for the next few days. We watched a couple of movies on Netflix, and then went over to a friend of hers for more celebrating. It was a big day, and with the recent surgery, she got tired early.
Friday, we got out of the house late morning and strolled the historic town of Franklin, enjoying the boutiques, street performers, and eventually a bite to eat. Despite a long day, my friend wanted to show me Leiper's Fork, TN, a quaint art-filled historic town nearby, so we headed over to enjoy the galleries and catch a gorgeous sunset.
We watched a movie at home Friday night and then I began to pack. As I did, I had the most wonderful sensation of wanting to stay and realized that it is far better to leave feeling as if you can't wait to return than to overstay and leave with the feeling that you are glad to escape!
