Mothering Sunday
It's two days until Mother's Day and I work in a greetings card and gift shop.
Oh it has been fun!
The main issue has been this one.( I will now combine the hourly conversations on the same thing into one.)
Customer - Do you have Mother's day cards for Nan?
Me - We don't, I'm afraid, but one of our grandma birthday cards doesn't say birthday, it just says I love you Grandma and is blank inside.
Customer - Can you show me?
Me - *gets card and shows them*
Customer - But I don't call her grandma, I call her nan.
Me - Our cards with Nan on them have birthday written on them, sorry.
Customer - So you don't have anything I can give my nan?
Me - Well, you could give her one of the cards that just says Mothering Sunday or Happy Mother's Day because that doesn't specify it's to a mum, it's just celebrating the day.
Customer - No, if it doesn't say Nan on it then it's to a mum.
Me - So you want a card with just nan on it? I could check the relation birthday cards out the back if you can wait.
Customer - No I want Happy Mother's Day, Nan on a card.
I understand that some people are raised by their grandparents, but I am certain that a grandmother is either not expecting a mother's day card from a grandchild or she would have no objection whatsoever to a Mothering Sunday card.
The last customer I had this conversation before I went home yesterday got really angry that I was saying a Mothering Sunday card would work because it didn't specify it was for a mother but just a card for the occasion.
Me - So this one says I love you grandma and you can write happy mother's day inside as your personal message.
Customer - But I don't WANT a grandma card I want a mother's day card.
Me - And you're really against getting a mother's day card that doesn't have a message on it to a mum?
Customer - Yes. Every Mother's Day card is for a mother. It has mother written on it!
Me - *cautiously* So you want a mother's day card to grandma but without mother written on it? That's going to be impossible to find in a shop. You'd need to go online and make one up.
Customer - *huffs* I...want...Happy Mother's Day Grandma...on a card.
Me - *pondering that she'd just told me mother's day meant mothers only and she didn't want that* You can try Clintons.
Customer - *leaves*
Customer 2 - *approaches* Excuse me, do you have Happy Mother's Day from Dad cards?
Me - No, sorry.
Seriously though, every hour I'd tell somebody we had an 'I love you grandma' card that was blank inside. Every one of the people I spoke to asked to see it before then complaining that they don't call their grandparent grandma (why ask to see it in the first place? I told you what it said?), or that they want it to have Mother's Day written on it (again, I told them it said nothing but 'I love you grandma')
Even with grandmothers who have raised their grandchild from birth, I'm certain they won't have any issue with getting a card that doesn't have nan, nanna, nanny, gran, granny or grandma printed on it.
In fact I'm betting most of these women aren't even expecting one at all. They would be delighted with a Happy Mother's Day card.
On my birthday I didn't care at all that the cards from my brothers didn't have sister printed on them. It doesn't matter nearly as much as the card purchaser thinks.
Seriously though, all day, every hour, for a week, the same thing...and not one person's bought this 'I love you grandma' card.
'I want her to have a happy mother's day, I don't LOVE her!'
Oh it has been fun!
The main issue has been this one.( I will now combine the hourly conversations on the same thing into one.)
Customer - Do you have Mother's day cards for Nan?
Me - We don't, I'm afraid, but one of our grandma birthday cards doesn't say birthday, it just says I love you Grandma and is blank inside.
Customer - Can you show me?
Me - *gets card and shows them*
Customer - But I don't call her grandma, I call her nan.
Me - Our cards with Nan on them have birthday written on them, sorry.
Customer - So you don't have anything I can give my nan?
Me - Well, you could give her one of the cards that just says Mothering Sunday or Happy Mother's Day because that doesn't specify it's to a mum, it's just celebrating the day.
Customer - No, if it doesn't say Nan on it then it's to a mum.
Me - So you want a card with just nan on it? I could check the relation birthday cards out the back if you can wait.
Customer - No I want Happy Mother's Day, Nan on a card.
I understand that some people are raised by their grandparents, but I am certain that a grandmother is either not expecting a mother's day card from a grandchild or she would have no objection whatsoever to a Mothering Sunday card.
The last customer I had this conversation before I went home yesterday got really angry that I was saying a Mothering Sunday card would work because it didn't specify it was for a mother but just a card for the occasion.
Me - So this one says I love you grandma and you can write happy mother's day inside as your personal message.
Customer - But I don't WANT a grandma card I want a mother's day card.
Me - And you're really against getting a mother's day card that doesn't have a message on it to a mum?
Customer - Yes. Every Mother's Day card is for a mother. It has mother written on it!
Me - *cautiously* So you want a mother's day card to grandma but without mother written on it? That's going to be impossible to find in a shop. You'd need to go online and make one up.
Customer - *huffs* I...want...Happy Mother's Day Grandma...on a card.
Me - *pondering that she'd just told me mother's day meant mothers only and she didn't want that* You can try Clintons.
Customer - *leaves*
Customer 2 - *approaches* Excuse me, do you have Happy Mother's Day from Dad cards?
Me - No, sorry.
Seriously though, every hour I'd tell somebody we had an 'I love you grandma' card that was blank inside. Every one of the people I spoke to asked to see it before then complaining that they don't call their grandparent grandma (why ask to see it in the first place? I told you what it said?), or that they want it to have Mother's Day written on it (again, I told them it said nothing but 'I love you grandma')
Even with grandmothers who have raised their grandchild from birth, I'm certain they won't have any issue with getting a card that doesn't have nan, nanna, nanny, gran, granny or grandma printed on it.
In fact I'm betting most of these women aren't even expecting one at all. They would be delighted with a Happy Mother's Day card.
On my birthday I didn't care at all that the cards from my brothers didn't have sister printed on them. It doesn't matter nearly as much as the card purchaser thinks.
Seriously though, all day, every hour, for a week, the same thing...and not one person's bought this 'I love you grandma' card.
'I want her to have a happy mother's day, I don't LOVE her!'