You know, we appreciate wedding gifts and all...
but honestly, one of the gifts that arrived today was... um... unusual.
You see, thediva_laments and I have registered for all sorts of things, from the somewhat expensive items in the several hundred dollar range to a lot of items in the thirty to one hundred dollar range and a wide scattering of things in the twenty dollar or less range. Some are formal, some are funny, some are extremely practical, some are fairly whimsical. So in theory, there should be a wide range of things to choose from when people are shopping for us for our wedding. So when people pick random gifts, it puzzles us because why would you just buy random stuff when we went through all the trouble to set the damn thing up? Don't get me wrong, if you know us well enough to get us something that you just know we will love, that is cool. But I have to tell you, this plate is NOT that gift. Not even close.
Supposedly this plate is a very old tradition. Well, I am a historian, with one of my specialty areas being everyday life in 19th century America, especially things like material culture, holidays, traditions, and popular culture. I'm no Jack Larkin or Eric Sloane, but the fact that they are two of my favorite historians should give you an idea of what I am talking about. And I have never heard of this. So if any of my fellow historians out there know what this is about please illuminate me. In the meantime, all I see is a weird plate that says "You Are Special Today". Now, this could have several meanings. One is that it is pretty straightforward, and that yes, today you are indeed special, but with the implication being that on any other day, no one really gives a shit about you. The other possible meaning is that You Are Special Today means that you are special in a totally short bus sort of way, and that this plate is some sort of equivalent of the classic old Army Fugawee Award or that Dumbass of the Year trophy. In that sense, I almost wish we could keep it, so that we could single out people at future events who are worthy of such recognition.
You see, thediva_laments and I have registered for all sorts of things, from the somewhat expensive items in the several hundred dollar range to a lot of items in the thirty to one hundred dollar range and a wide scattering of things in the twenty dollar or less range. Some are formal, some are funny, some are extremely practical, some are fairly whimsical. So in theory, there should be a wide range of things to choose from when people are shopping for us for our wedding. So when people pick random gifts, it puzzles us because why would you just buy random stuff when we went through all the trouble to set the damn thing up? Don't get me wrong, if you know us well enough to get us something that you just know we will love, that is cool. But I have to tell you, this plate is NOT that gift. Not even close.
Supposedly this plate is a very old tradition. Well, I am a historian, with one of my specialty areas being everyday life in 19th century America, especially things like material culture, holidays, traditions, and popular culture. I'm no Jack Larkin or Eric Sloane, but the fact that they are two of my favorite historians should give you an idea of what I am talking about. And I have never heard of this. So if any of my fellow historians out there know what this is about please illuminate me. In the meantime, all I see is a weird plate that says "You Are Special Today". Now, this could have several meanings. One is that it is pretty straightforward, and that yes, today you are indeed special, but with the implication being that on any other day, no one really gives a shit about you. The other possible meaning is that You Are Special Today means that you are special in a totally short bus sort of way, and that this plate is some sort of equivalent of the classic old Army Fugawee Award or that Dumbass of the Year trophy. In that sense, I almost wish we could keep it, so that we could single out people at future events who are worthy of such recognition.