Summer is a social season, including those occasions that include intricate etiquette and gifting. Some customs make sense and some don't.
The year I turned 25, my job was cut from full time to part time, my car was stolen and the house I was living in got broken into. I was beyond broke. I n December I received an invitation to a wedding shower for a co-worker.
This shouldn't have been a big deal. Since I didn't really know the woman - she was upper management, several levels above me - I wouldn't be missed. If she'd been a good friend, I'd just get her something practical, and at that moment, really really cheap. Did yard sales have registries?
Then one of the secretaries told me that if you receive a shower invite, you don't have to go but you "have to" send a gift. And Ms. Exec was registered at Nieman-Marcus & Bloomingdale's.
I wasn't even going to be able to send a Christmas present to my baby niece that year. Why on earth would I spend $80 on a cut-glass pickle dish (the cheapest item on the registry) for someone who probably already had everything? Anyway, who made the gift rule and who said I had to obey it?
jSidesteppers are practical if nothing else. I didn't go or send a gift. The world didn't end. Nobody noticed the "missing" present. And I was able to send my niece a present after all.
Social customs were created to serve people. When it turns out to be the other way around, it's time for a change.
No comments:
Post a Comment