Janet Baraclough wrote:
> The message >
> from Gloria P > contains these words:
>
>
>> Gone are the days when a pickle fork, cake knife, or china place setting
>> was considered an appropriate, lovely gift.
>
>
> I wonder if today's extravagant, carefully arranged gift lists give as
> much pleasure as our unsolicited wedding presents did. Here's what we
> got:
>
> One of my favourite aunts gave us a floral pattern Pyrex casserole
> dish with lid. Another aunt gave us an iron, and my best friend gave us
> a set of 6 coffee cups and saucers. My work colleagues gave us a set of
> 6 wine glasses. Someone else, gave us a plastic laundry basket; and
> friends of parents gave us stuff like tea-towels, or a pair of
> pillowcases. About 30 friends at college clubbed together and gave us a
> set of saucepans. We were thrilled with all of it :-)
>
> Janet
We got several place settings in my wife's pattern in sterling silver.
Both her younger sister chose the same pattern, the thinking was that if
one of them died or divorced the others could split the service. Those
two or three place settings grew over the first thirty years of our
marriage to a service for twelve plus all the serving pieces. It all
sits in a rosewood silver chest in the dining room. Can't remember last
time it was opened. Looking at the spot price for silver I'm very
tempted to sell the stuff.

Stuff we used the most was a service for eight of "china" that came with
Duz detergent, I think Golden Wheat was the pattern. We still have a
serving bowl from that. The "silver" was Betty Crocker "Twin Stars"
pattern stainless. All of this is from the girls my wife went to high
school and college with before we married. They saved coupons, etc. and
got the stuff for free. It meant a lot to us.

Neither of our children had a fantastic wedding either, daughter paid
for her own as I did not approve of the guy she married nor the
subsequent divorce. Son and his wife are common-law under Texas law and
have been together about fifteen years now with two kids.

It's not what you get as wedding gifts, it's the idea of love of each of
you and how your friends and family see you.

My old high school has a "homecoming" every year in June. We just came
home a couple of hours ago from that, a thirty minute drive but worth
it. Sat with three "girls" (we're all in our mid-to-late sixties) that I
grew up with and am still friends with as is my wife from the day she
met them. That's what life is all about.

George