Chairs, Cheapskates, and Priorities

Mr. M and I will be hosting a big dinner party for the college kids this weekend. My beloved went to the store last night to buy the provisions. When he came home, I asked him what he got. "Oh, the usual; bread, veggies, meat and a set of chairs." Huh? Back up there a minute. You got a set of chairs?!? So that makes 18 chairs that we have in this house. We can definitely get rid of the tall, high-backed chairs that are uncomfortable and take up way too much space. That will give us plenty of room for this new set of chairs. That is when the good Mr. M informed me that the 4 chairs he had bought were just for a trial run; if they are comfortable, he plans on buying 4 more. "In that case, we can also get rid of the two red plastic folding chairs to make room." Don't tell him this, but I am secretly glad Mr. M got the new chairs. The old set, though lovely and fancy and grown-up looking, take up a lot of space and they're really uncomfortable. We'll be forced to address our growing storage problem. It seems like we're regressing, buying cheaper, foldable chairs, chairs that look like they belong in a college dorm, but they're reflective of our priorities now: to be able to comfortably have a lot of friends over. We'd rather have plenty of room in the house where we can set up some temporary seats for friends than to have fancy furniture for us to look at. These new chairs, and the prioritizing of our life and space reminds me of Hoarding: Buried Alive. I never miss an episode of that show. I've also started watching Extreme Cheapskates. The thing these shows have taught me is that life is about priorities. Would you rather keep old food even when it means there will be rats in your house? Do you want to keep all your stuff, or do you want other people to be able to come over? How important to you is it to save a little on your water bill? Is it worth making your husband mad by turning off the water in the middle of his shower? Is it worth it to risk making your friends sick by serving them food you found in the dumpster? (Yes, people really do that.) Is it worth it? You tell me.