to not want people to wear shoes over my lovely oak floor

[Carameli]

we have since we moved been doing some major renovations to our house. It is now at an end and as we put really nice oak flooring in the living room and dining room we decided to have a no shoes rule in the house. Lots of my friends do this and it works fine.
I also lived in Finland for a few years where it is the norm and expected that you take off your shoes when you go into someone's house.
My stumbling block is my mum and dad who refuse to and have said they will sit in the kitchen rather than take off their shoes.
I love my parents dearly and but feel so upset over this. Have just had an email from my mum saying she does not know when my father will want to visit us again. What am I meant to say. My worry is he comes in with a stone on his shoe and we end up with a big scratch on the wood or I am not ale to invite them over for dinner etc etc(thinking ahead to Christmas etc etc birthdays)

arrrgggg. feel so frustrated.

Well since OP & her family take their shoes off I think the parents should be following suit & doing the same tbh.

I am sure you could also create a niche market on ebay for Hully's knickers Paggy.

I think Oblomov brews her own cider and has to pop out to stir it.

Great idea Pag, why not go the whole hog and offer dressing gowns? Then you could flog their whole outfit. It's the way forward.

I clingfilm my guests as a precaution.

I only pointed out that it could be argued that those who need to keep their shoes on are precious, I didn't say they were and it was insinuated that those of us who prefer a shoes off approach are precious/clean freaks/need to get a life first.

fluffles I keep my buggy folded up in the hall or in the boot of the car. I traipse across a field everyday that seems to be the local dog toilet so no, I don't take it into the main rooms in the house. Bikes go straight round to the shed.

I am talking about small stones from outside on the footpath. A pal had someone come into her house with rubber soled shoes which she thought would be fine only to have a big scratch left on the wood.

For a quick fag? It's not very nice to talk about ladies like that, even if they are goers.

Ah, the old stony footpath dilemma. Have you considered a light coating of moss?

Maybe you need to think about why they are being stubborn about this? Maybe they are embarrassed about their feet? There are loads of things that make me feel unwilling to go shoeless in public: smelly feet, sweaty feet (wet prints on your oak floors!), my shabby remains of nail polish, hard bits that I don't bother about till the summer pedicure season... (please don't hold this against me! I have nice feet in the summer!)

Also, do either of them have diabetes? People with diabetes are always being warned not to walk around without shoes, and the older generation are often reluctant to disobey their practice nurse...

Once you know why they are upset about it, you can work on a solution/compromise. There must be a reason why they feel so strongly.

They are not being asked to go barefoot-they could take slippers around/have some there.

Carameli-what do they do in their own house?

There is def a marketing oppertunity here.

Do your guests mindthe cling film Hully. I guess they lose weight too if it is a warm night and the walkways are challenging.
Not sure I would wish to be beneath the walkway when cling filmed people are on it?

Diddl said Ops dad has some kind of a 'following suit' which could be an ice breaker

All joking apart, I think marrs has a good point here. If you can rule out the possibility that they have feet disease of any kind, or are just a bit embarrassed about having old people feet, and the issue runs deeper, what about trying some family therapy to get to the root of it all? Did you get on well with them in your childhood?

Yes-a following suit-has to be worn without shoes

I'm usually pretty relaxed about taking my shoes off and offer as a matter of course. I do have a friend however, who AS SOON as she opens the door virtually snarls - 'take your shoes off, we have cream carpets.' Another friend and I were there over the winter and had to take off our extremely pristine boots (I wear mine indoors as they're so clean and comfy!) As we sat there in her perfect cream house with our outfits that now didn't work without boots and with our horrid boot socks showing to the other mums we glanced at each other and knew exactly what the other was thinking. I shouldn't have been annoyed, but I was - extremely. I don't want to get my feet cold, I don't want to show off my socks, I don't want to let everybody smell my possibly smelly feet and I don't want feel as if I'm being treated like a child. Sorry. Could your parents feel this way?

and is much preferred to the follow through suit which frankly is just unpleasant

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I don't feel we have really explored the therapy route.

What is your earliest foot-related memory?

What is that sweet lonely little bracket, Paggy?

it started as a smile but was thwarted.
it is but a breeze of good humour dampened at the last by a recognition of my own ennui.

I

I think you need therapy too. When did you first notice an inability to complete bracketing? Did it excite you in any way?

MD -perhaps the op could buy a job lot and cover the floor with them?

I don't need therapy. I have embraced the fact that I am inadequate. It is the not knowing you are challeged that causes the problem.

I think my little bracket may be a cry for help.
On some level.

You need to get the first stain or scratch out of the way early on. Then you can relax.

You are in denial.