10 December 2012
Quote of the Day: Carolyn Hax Chat
From the chat on 12/12/08:
Sacramento, Calif.: When your birthday lands during the "holiday season," the horror stories can get even worse! With a birthday five days after Christmas, I got used to "combined" gifts and receiving gifts long after the actual date (because people are so shopped-out by Xmas that they can't possibly remember anything happening during the dead zone between Xmas and New Years!).
The topper, tho, was my grandmother across the country. In latter years she turned into one of those crazy hoarder types who kept every newspaper, egg carton and ketchup packet she could get her hands on. Before that, though, she was simply -cheap-. When I was a kid, she'd mail us one big box via last-class postage; sometimes it'd get to us three weeks early, sometimes two months late. Out from the big box the year of my seventh birthday came a small package with my Xmas present: a left shoe. In an identically wrapped box with instructions not to open until my birthday five days later: the right shoe. She also cut a cardboard "book" of Life Savers in half and included half with each "gift"! My mother, being most kind, actually told me at the time, "Obviously, you don't have to write two thank-you cards to your grandmother". Those shoes alone almost added an entire year to my therapy as an adult.
Carolyn Hax: More abuse of perfectly good accessories.
Washington, D.C.: A truly kind mother would have helped you write two thank-you notes:
Dear Grandma, Thank you so much for the beautiful left shoe. It really made my Christmas fun and unique. I used it to hop all the way around the house in the snow. Whee! Love, Child.
Dear Grandma, The right shoe was great! It was a wonderful birthday surprise! My right foot happened to start to get frostbite recently, so I don't know how you knew I needed it but it's just perfect! Thank you so much for the thoughtful birthday gift. Love, Child.
Carolyn Hax: This just subtracted a year from my therapy, thanks.
Sacramento, Calif.: When your birthday lands during the "holiday season," the horror stories can get even worse! With a birthday five days after Christmas, I got used to "combined" gifts and receiving gifts long after the actual date (because people are so shopped-out by Xmas that they can't possibly remember anything happening during the dead zone between Xmas and New Years!).
The topper, tho, was my grandmother across the country. In latter years she turned into one of those crazy hoarder types who kept every newspaper, egg carton and ketchup packet she could get her hands on. Before that, though, she was simply -cheap-. When I was a kid, she'd mail us one big box via last-class postage; sometimes it'd get to us three weeks early, sometimes two months late. Out from the big box the year of my seventh birthday came a small package with my Xmas present: a left shoe. In an identically wrapped box with instructions not to open until my birthday five days later: the right shoe. She also cut a cardboard "book" of Life Savers in half and included half with each "gift"! My mother, being most kind, actually told me at the time, "Obviously, you don't have to write two thank-you cards to your grandmother". Those shoes alone almost added an entire year to my therapy as an adult.
Carolyn Hax: More abuse of perfectly good accessories.
Washington, D.C.: A truly kind mother would have helped you write two thank-you notes:
Dear Grandma, Thank you so much for the beautiful left shoe. It really made my Christmas fun and unique. I used it to hop all the way around the house in the snow. Whee! Love, Child.
Dear Grandma, The right shoe was great! It was a wonderful birthday surprise! My right foot happened to start to get frostbite recently, so I don't know how you knew I needed it but it's just perfect! Thank you so much for the thoughtful birthday gift. Love, Child.
Carolyn Hax: This just subtracted a year from my therapy, thanks.
Labels: holidays
# posted by mamurd @ 9:12 PM 
