Jack and Jill

"Miss, you really don't care to see what your buying?" questions the BabyLand employee over the phone. "Mamam, I have absolutely no interest what so ever and your the expert. Just wrap it up in a big bag and I'll be there to pick it up in 10". I'm buying something called a Contour Pad with Blue Baby Cover, sounds practical enough. Nothing cute or frilly, instead a gift the happy couple registered for, so they must need it. Baby showers, wedding showers, engagement parties, weddings, birthdays, who knew having friends could be so expensive? Why, praytell, do we still celebrate someone else's love and good fortune by showering them with gifts they probably already have? It's so superfluous and tradition for the sake of tradition is such a waste. Wedding gifts are ancient tradition started in the 16th century. Giving gifts to the bride and groom came about when a dowry was paid by the bride's father to his future son-in-law and his family. The practice of paying a dowry died out long ago so why are we still following the practice of buying gifts? Call me an envious cynic, but if anybody should be buying gifts it should be them doing so for everyone else. They found each other, they're combining incomes and they're making it last, if not a new set of linens for the rest of us, how about sharing some advice on how we can make it work too? Of course, showers still have their place for unexpected pregnancies and low-income families, but for the rest of us the whole concept needs revamping.