This is what we get for our kindness

I've been duped.

Three months ago I let my parents move into our spare room and babysit Ethan at no cost to us with the expectation that upon departure they would provide us with a ginormous gift. Apparently, they have no such intentions.

Sure, they've given us three nearly new area rugs and a nearly new microwave—but they didn't need those anymore. The generosity involved is minimal. And okay, they're going to buy us new phones for the house, but have you seen how cheap you can get a land line phone for these days? Is that the kind of legacy they want to leave: We're grateful one land-line phone dollars' worth?

So I suggested that if the shed and the laptop and the houseful of new carpet are out, the least they could do is trade their slightly newer 42" secondary television for their large bedroom (they just got a brand-new one for their living room) for our 37" primary television, and we'd call it even.

What happened next, I can barely even revisit. After a solid 30 minutes of badgering reasoning and threatening negotiating, they still refused to trade TVs.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Here it comes again: They still refused to trade TVs.

Then mom spouted some mumbo jumbo about having worked hard for many years to get what they have; I can't remember, I was too busy telling Noah to just pick up the TV and put it in our truck.

So I'm going to do something unprecedented on Fierce Beagle. I'm instituting a poll*.

 Should Erin's parents go through with the TV switch as a gesture of gratitude?

Yes, obviously! No, because I hate gratitude
   pollcode.com free polls

*Keep in mind your vote will have little to no bearing on the outcome of this protracted argument.

Elsewhere, we're teaching Ethan that life is about more than just stuff.