Long Suffering Spouse and I are moving into a new phase of social life, I guess.
When we were younger there were our friends' weddings -- then came the christenings -- sometimes the Communion parties. And then came graduations and, more recently, 25th Anniversary parties. (Our friends even threw a surprise party for us on our 25th -- except I was the only one surprised and Long Suffering Spouse almost refused to go. I think. You can read that long, linked entry at your leisure and form your own opinion.)
And now a new chapter opens: Recently we received a wedding invitation for one of Younger Daughter's friends. Long Suffering Spouse said we should go.
This was no casual acquaintance, filling out the guest list with parents of friends in the hopes of increasing her financial return on the day; this was from Older Daughter's oldest and dearest friend, her BFF (I believe that's the term in the current argot), a friend since early in grammar school.
Well, the response card was due in mid-September, so we put it to one side.
But where to put it?
Not with the bills. It's not a bill, not exactly. And it would seem kind of cold to put it there, anyway.
But where to put it?
It's not like Long Suffering Spouse and I are awash in social invitations. All those events set out at the top of this essay were w...i...d...e...l...y spaced in time. Eventually, though, Long Suffering Spouse designated a place and I put the invitation there and immediately forgot about it.
Until this week. It turns out that wedding invitations are similar to charge card bills: All too often I remember them a few days after they're due. We didn't miss the wedding -- Long Suffering Spouse has it on her calendar, and I am dimly aware that it's still somewhere in the future -- but we were late returning the card.
The bride-to-be still has family at the school where Long Suffering Spouse teaches and the bride's mother buttonholed my wife earlier in the week to inquire if we were planning to attend. Oooops. Well, Long Suffering Spouse apologized profusely and said we were looking forward to it and, that night, we began our search for the long-forgotten invitation.
I wonder, sometimes, why we don't get invited out more often. I suppose this is part of it....
7 comments:
Ahhh, so that's why some people never return their cards. Currently going through this, after inviting about 140 people, we have yet to receive cards from about 8. Not bad odds, but enough to be concerned when ordering the food. Guessing phone calls are due since the RSVP date was 9.19.08.
Nice to catch up with you and your blog! I will be back again....
I'm confused. If you had decided you were going, why put the invitation anywhere? Why not just reply. Am I missing yet another social convention that says you have to reply x days after being invited?
Nice to hear from you again, Star.
Dave -- that's a very good, logical point to which, of course, I have no ready response. It's just... well, it came in a month before the due date on the response card... so it's practically begging to be set aside... for awhile at least, isn't it?
*With hopeful sounding whine*
Isn't it?
oh not me!!! invite me somewhere and the response is in the mail and i am going! curmy there will be CAKE!!! CAKE!!! do you hear me???
smiles, bee
tyvc
You're missing the invitation for Youngers 'Best Friend Forever' wedding? How crass! But you'll find it. And go. And really enjoy yourselves!
Oh, Curmy, just say that the dog ate it.
You do have a dog, don't you?
;-)
I never know where to put invites either. I agree that they don't belong with the bills.
I'd have to agree with Dave and Empress Bee on this one ... just send it in ... but if you absolutely must let it marinate, use a magnet to stick it to the front of the fridge - so it can be close to the other whine.
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