More love less understanding....

Jules, my new friend across the pond had sent my swap pkg. for Home for the Holidays II. I wanted to wait until she got hers to open mine, she insisted that I open mine anyways...so after staring at it under my tree for the last 4 days and with hesitation I did! Curiosity killed the cat, and I'm so glad I'm not a cat! And then...the tears came again...American husband is beside himself with me these days, too many tears, he can't figure it out! Trying to explain to him is not an easy task, as I tried to explain the gratitude I feel for such love and kindness... He did make me laugh though...he said, " if I got a gift like this I would yell whoo hoo!" (as he's making ridiculous hand motions and jumping up and down...) I think he was demonstrating how he would like me to respond going forward! HA! Even if they are happy grateful tears he does not like to see sprinkles running down my face...After 24 years of marriage he says he thinks he will just never understand. Jules had sent me a box of lovelies that had the word "Believe" all over them, sprinkled with love and magic and glass glitter... Oh Jules, thank you so much, you quite out did yourself! And, that word "Believe", I need that word now more than ever!
After much drama, and ungrateful rudeness, (I will spare you the details only to say the term "Bridezilla" would come into play here...) the bachelorette party came to fruition yesterday. Baby girl had done such a lovely job with all the details...so sweet and soft she is... an arrangement of pink, red and white roses with beautiful greens and pink and white helium balloons floating out of the top, little cupcakes with roses on top to set in the center of the plates and little party gifts of nail polish, pink lipstick and hershey kisses all tied up in a cello bag with a pic of bride and groom, a little poem and little rhinestone diamond rings tied on. Held at the most charming venue in our beloved Sonoma. Sounds heavenly and the pics are so lovely, I'll post these later too... So much to my regret, I couldn't attend to support her as I had to return to work yesterday and there was a meeting I could not get out of...she was on my mind and in my prayers all afternoon, just praying that it would go different than I expected...but it didn't and baby girl came through the doors last night in tears... All of the money, time and energy spent to not receive as much as a thank you, to have the bride and her other bridesmaid reminisce together about the "old days" and the exclusive conversation between the two would make a sailor blush according to baby girl...(why am I not surprised?) , the mother of the bride and aunt chattered together and baby girl sat there alone with the grace and class she has been raised to exhibit... Oh....sooooo angry, I don't know why, it was expected...but still! Even though there were only five of them, which made this event even more ridiculous, (you kind of need to have friends to have a bachelorette party.... I'm going to stop before I get nasty, I know my limitations!) she still felt out numbered and since the conversation was not one that she would ever participate in, she felt out numbered... "Pearls to Swine" as my dear Mitzi reminded me Saturday when we talked...easy for Mitzi and I, baby girl has not learned how to handle such situations yet which makes me that much more angry, and regrettable that I wasn't there to set it straight... Her lovely set party was finished by the "other" bridesmaid passing a sack for each of them to pull something out of...baby girl being a good sport reached in and much to her horror what do you think was in that bag? You can probably guess, but lets describe it as a certain anatomical part of the male on a stick.... so disgusting...I can only shake my head! What is my dear sweet boy thinking...and yes we've had this conversation...his answer was, "I can't help who I love mom", I left it at that and began to wonder where I had gone wrong in my mothering... I keep telling American husband I'm not taking responsibility for his choices these days, that I didn't raise him with these type of manners or morals, but in my heart I sigh...I did raise him so I must have missed the boat on something somewhere...

I would like to wash my hair of this whole thing...but then again I can't. A mother never gives up...
I will only say that I think those old antique books you find on etiquette could be useful in these situations...somewhere through the civilization and modernization of our world, and in our fast food, throw away society we have robbed our children of something valuable... I can see kids around the world rolling their eyes at me now...but it's true. Grace and class never go out of style!

Madhatter time...so wish I could call in sick today...but tomorrow...aahh, tomorrow is a new day and I promise to balance this post out with something much more fun!

XO Keke