When my husband and I moved into our home in Bergenfield 14 years ago with two small children, our home seemed huge. Now with a larger family, thank G-d, it does not seem quite as big. And who would have thought that an unexpected visitor would eventually turn into a resident in our home and require his own room too…!!

I am referring to someone who used to visit occasionally a few times a week. He would often pop in unannounced. He would stay all day and hang out in our home until the late evening. He grew up with all of my children and they have graciously welcomed him as part of our family. Such hospitable children, you might be thinking.

You might have seen him around town too. I am referring to our guest named  “Not Me”. My mind is fuzzy as to when exactly “Not Me” made his first appearance in our home or who even let him in the door in the first place. I think I might remember the first time being introduced to him. The children were younger. I went down to the basement and noticed every single toy we owned thrown out of the shelf and covering the floor. I asked my eldest daughter who exactly had made the mess. She said very quickly “Not me”. I proceeded to ask the other children as well. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that it was “Not me” in fact, who did make the mess.

As the years went on, “Not Me” spent a lot more time with our family and learned how to do much more in my house. “Not me” learned how to leave out the breakfast dishes on the table, leave clean laundry on the floor, leave personal belongings in random places, leave food out in various locations in our house, leave toys on the floor, amongst some other things. I began to realize just how talented our guest really was!!!! In addition, he didn’t spend time with only one child but really knew how to divide his time between all the children so that no one would feel lft out.

I finally came to the conclusion that maybe “Not Me” needs to have a bed in our home like everyone else. After all, he does live with us and has integrated into our family quite well. For some reason, though, my kids have not raced to give up part of their rooms even though they really treat him like part of the family. So after long talks, my husband and I agreed that we should consider adding an extra room to our home to accommodate this special permanent guest.

Debby Pfeiffer lives in Bergenfield, NJ and is thankful to run a very busy household. I have been told by numerous friends that our “Not Me” guest seems to have a lot of siblings and cousins around town. If you, or anyone else you know, are considering construction to accommodate your permanent guest, please be in touch with me. Maybe we can find a contractor who will give us a group deal. Until then, I will be grateful that my children have mastered the mitzvah of Hachnasas Orchim in their own special way. 😉

By Debby Pfeiffer