"What are you getting your parents for Christmas?"

[middlegirl]

It's an innocuous enough question on its own, right?

What about when the person asking the question is your mom?

Mom, I love you, but you know that I don't have money to spend on gifts. You know what I was planning on doing instead: good old-fashioned manual labor (I mean, when was the last time I offered to do anything like that?). This should not have been a surprise to you tonight, and to be honest, I didn't appreciate that slow nod. Again, I wish I could do more, but you heard the words "Great Depression Christmas" straight from me.

And on top of that, you taught me that a) it was rude and unladylike to ask for/expect presents, and b) that it's okay to spend gift money on yourself. How many times did that birthday/Christmas money go to groceries or bills? Probably more than we girls know, but you always seemed to compartmentalize that money and spend it on new clothes or something.

So why is it that you chimed in right after Grandpa asked me what I was going to do with the money he gave me?

Comments

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

Ouch. :-(

[gonzo1385.livejournal.com]

Eeps! My mom's accepted if she doesn't get anything big/at all, because she understands how tight money can be. And don't tell the gifters, but all the money we've been getting lately as a gift for Zay's impending birth has gone straight to groceries and bills. Do not pass go, do not collect (well, actually, collect the $200 and then send it to companies that would otherwise holding your house for ransom).