Walking on Sunshine

Thursday, June 20, 2002

"And teaching your children that this is a nice to do to family just because you think so is wrong is very selfish of you."

I received this in a comment about the reception this weekend and it cracked me up. Does this person have kids?!!?

Teaching our kids what we believe is wrong is NOT selfish of us, it is called "PARENTING", instilling morals and values and etiquette, something MANY people, including the Commentor, seem to be lacking.

Should we teach our kids to be selfish toward their extended family? Hey, let's NOT deal with them being invited to your First Communion in May, they can just bring a dish to pass at your party in August! Yeah, let's do it! And let's include, "CASH IS APPRECIATED" in the invite, too!

Outrageous? Well, the Commentor didn't think so, if you go along the lines of, "It's their day!" (Gimme a break, it's not like weddings are "once in a lifetime," anymore!) It WAS their day, all that was required was THEM.

Nope, I think that is USING family in the ugliest way. I grew up with basically NO extended family, just my parents and siblings. I miss not having happy memories of weekend visits, holidays, phone calls, etc. It sucked. I didn't care about presents, I wanted PRESENCE! I wanted to hear, "I love you," "I miss you" and feel hugs and kisses. Our kids are being raised to appreciate CONTACT, not to expect CASH from family for their "happy days."

We believe that if you are going to a wedding reception, then you had damn well attend the wedding! We believe that if you are invited to a wedding shower, you had better be invited to the wedding! That IS what we teach our kids, no apologies.

Side note: When Rick's other cousin (who is the brother of this reception's cousin) was married, we drove 5+ hours (most others drove 8 hours) to attend the wedding and stayed overnight in the same hotel as the reception. The affair took place in the bride's hometown, but most of her family did not "bother" with the wedding, either. We think that is tacky and we owe it to our children to teach them. And, when Rick married his first wife (kind of an elopement, it was impromptu, with no friends or family knowing until after-the-fact), they lived in a different state and never did have a reception here, even when they visited and even though they sent out announcements.

Sunshine - Walking on Sunshine - 6/20/2002 08:08:00 AM