DEAR CRABBY,

Recently, a co-worker had a baby. We all thought she would have a boy, and her and her husband had always wanted a boy. She was given a baby shower at work and many of the gifts she had received from us were for a little boy. We were very surprised when she had a girl after all. The shocker is that this young gal had the 'boy' gifts brought back to the givers with the request that we go return them and send her back the girl presents she'll be needing now. I have never heard of such a request in all my life.

Crabby, I'm hoping you know the answer to this one. This has become such an issue that we now have an office pool going on your answer. Is this proper etiquette? My bet is no.

OFFENDED AT RETURNS

DEAR OAR,

Is this all you have to do at your job? As long as you are stealing your employers time, why not do some good with it? There are inmates at the local jail that are probably starving for pen-pals.

Of course it's not good manners. But it's not like she spit in your eye and told you it was a crummy gift. Did you buy her something you can't return, or did you not know she probably isn't getting much sleep and her husband most likely doesn't know or care how and where to exchange baby things? If it bothers you that much, keep the gift and sell it on Ebay. Or, you could cut her some slack, then get back to writing letters! Those lonely inmates aren't going to wait around forever! Oh, wait, maybe they are...

DEAR CRABBY,

I'm in high school, and just broke up with a guy I've been with for the past eight and a half months. "Steve" and I used to spend a great deal of time at his house, and I got to be close to his parents. His mom and I would cook together sometimes, and his dad and I watched sports on TV. They treated me like one of their own, and I felt a real sense of belonging.

Steve and I used to fight, and we split up then got back together a couple of times. During one of the longer 'apart' times, his mom called and we went out to lunch. She told me I was the daughter they never had, and even though we were too young to be considering marriage, she'd always hoped that someday I would become her daughter-in-law. I meant it when I said I loved them too.

Well, to put it bluntly, Steve acts like a kid, and we broke up for good. The problem is how much I miss his parents, especially his mom. I really want to stay friends with them, but it would be very awkward to go over there, because I want nothing to do with Steve. What do I do now?

NOT DAUGHTER-IN-LAW

DEAR NOT DIL,

Tough one. Maybe you or Steve will go off to college soon and the other one will win the parents. Or you could have a contest. Make sure it's one you can win-like who wipes their feet on the way into the house, or puts the toilet seat down the most often. Maybe you two can flip a coin to see who gets weekends with them. You can impress his father if you wear his favorite NFL team jersey. Still, you must admit, Steve does have the home court advantage. You could always sneak out to the movies or just go for coffee but it's only a matter of time before you all get caught with popcorn and mochas on your breath. Not too much I can say here, N Dil; you might just have to face the fact that everyone grows up, and sooner or later you will have to give in, move on with your life and let them go make friends their own age.

crabcakes@sitnews.org

 

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