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I'm Officially a Bad Uncle
I've finally given up and done what I swore I would never do: rather than selecting & sending a customized birthday present to a niece or nephew, I just sent a card with a $20 (CDN) bill.
Sending money just seems like such a cop-out. I'm officially a failure as an uncle. I feel dirty.
The sad reality though is that I rarely get back to Canada these days. When I first moved to the US, I was returning to the Dominion every three months or so. Now, it's more like every 18 months. The four of them --a niece & nephew by one sister and two nieces by another-- are very young kids yet and growing quickly every day. Seeing them even quarterly wouldn't be enough to keep up with their growth rate and changing interests. I can't even keep track anymore of the presents I sent individually for past birthdays and christmas so I'm running into the possibility of accidentally sending the same item twice. Sure, it's the thought that counts etc., but that requires an adult perspective: I could barely expect that level of maturity from my own peer group let alone kids eight years old & younger.
In defeat, I'm caving in. Where the kiddie in question is too young to understand money, I'll trust their parents to either save it or spend it judiciously on our collective behalf. Daniel is old enough to understand (roughly) how money work so I'm sure his parents will let him exercise his own discretion.
God as my witness though, I will purchase proper gifts at christmas. Every kid deserves proper presents at the holidays. I'll just have to consult extensively with the family before buying. That will have to suffice to redeem my good uncle status.
Sending money just seems like such a cop-out. I'm officially a failure as an uncle. I feel dirty.
The sad reality though is that I rarely get back to Canada these days. When I first moved to the US, I was returning to the Dominion every three months or so. Now, it's more like every 18 months. The four of them --a niece & nephew by one sister and two nieces by another-- are very young kids yet and growing quickly every day. Seeing them even quarterly wouldn't be enough to keep up with their growth rate and changing interests. I can't even keep track anymore of the presents I sent individually for past birthdays and christmas so I'm running into the possibility of accidentally sending the same item twice. Sure, it's the thought that counts etc., but that requires an adult perspective: I could barely expect that level of maturity from my own peer group let alone kids eight years old & younger.
In defeat, I'm caving in. Where the kiddie in question is too young to understand money, I'll trust their parents to either save it or spend it judiciously on our collective behalf. Daniel is old enough to understand (roughly) how money work so I'm sure his parents will let him exercise his own discretion.
God as my witness though, I will purchase proper gifts at christmas. Every kid deserves proper presents at the holidays. I'll just have to consult extensively with the family before buying. That will have to suffice to redeem my good uncle status.
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I probably mentioned I stopped sending my nieces anything 20 years ago. They (nor their parents) ever acknowledged the gifts, so screw them.
Oddly though, both my nieces and my nephew are on FaceBook. The two girls couldn't be nicer to their queer old Uncle Billy
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(*)there's only six of them, really. and size does breed efficiency in these matters.
I know to my regret from sending money in the opposite direction, TO the United States, isn't nearly as easy. Cash or VISA is really the smoothest way to handle it, or a US$ denominated money order (which would be drawn on a US-based bank). Just go to your local bank and buy US$ over-the-counter.
I gave up sending presents back to my UK nephews - like you, never any acknowlegement. The Canadian ones, who saw my face regularly, no problems thataway.
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You've convinced me. I'm renouncing my US citizenship to move to Canada.
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I'm sorry to hear of your previous distress, but not, I'm afraid, surprised.
If you're in this situation again (needing to receive money from a Canajun source), do not accept a cheque, ask for a money order. They will have to go to a bank to get this. It will be denominated in US$, and will be drawn on a United States bank (the US affiliate of whichever bank issues the money order). And it's essentially what you would call a cashier's check/money order, so you shouldn't have a problem with them holding funds to see if it is going to clear or bounce.
as
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http://www.amazon.ca
Easiest way EVER to send gifts from the US to Canada.
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The problem isn't how to shop for them: it's what to get.
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people in general may not be able to answer all sorts of questions about "important people in the world", but just about everyone can tell you who it was taught them to read. For every single one of us, that person was very important.
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Fortunately, my sisters instilled a love of reading and literacy in all of their offspring, and they have passed it along in turn to their sprogs. (six nephews, 10.5 great-nieces / nephews).
the only trick is remembering what you've given. and you, brian, are one of the most organised people I know. Why don't you have a spreadsheet listing what you've given to whom and when? that's what Excel is for.
I know I've slipped up there - giving the same book two years in a row, but we just traded between households [the youngsters in question being at the board-book stage]. It helps that my local Indigo Books has a wonderful assistant in the children's books section, I just go to Elizabeth with a list of ages and genders, and a credit card in my pocket.
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Kaylee (whose birthday I missed earlier this month) turned five; her younger sister will be 18 months old today.
Yeah, Daniel is old enough to understand money and its uses. Interestingly, he seems to have grown out of his monster truck obsession but I don't know what new things he's focused on currently.
avuncular attention
If you can find it in your heart to send them a postcard once a month, or even every other month, it will have a big effect. The actual message is "my Uncle Brian is thinking of me. Not mum-and-dad (or sibling), but ME." and that's a real present. (if you have two siblings of reading age in the same household, send two cards if you can)
At that age, getting something arriving in the mail (especially addressed to YOU personally) is A Big Deal. Also at that age, they're at the concrete-operational stage of development. What that means, in non-BEd, non-Early Childhood Ed terms, is they are gathering facts and having a whale of a time doing it. They've learned language, and now they're using it. Learning all about railroads, or dinosaurs, or geography, or stars, or cars, or whatever their fancy lights upon. Children are little learning machines - that is their employment - and voracious fact-collectors (which they will then sort-and-classify). Postcards will give them pretty pictures and a little parcel of facts, which will be absorbed.
You are fortunate to live in a tourist town, with all sorts of museums. There are cheap postcards galore. Tell your nephew/niece about the town that you live in. "This is the Jefferson Monument- Jefferson was president of the US back in (whatever the dates were). Look at all the cherry trees in blossom! This was in April - was there snow where you live then? Love, Uncle Brian". That's ALL it takes. You could even write the cards in advance and mail on pre-decided dates, though you may want to throw in a one-sentence allusion to something in his/her life. Or you could, as the occasion arises, send a tourist postcard. "hello! we're on vacation this week and went to Gettysburg. There's an enormous battlefield here, but now it's a big grassy field, with a very interesting museum. Are you going on holiday soon? love, Uncle Brian. "
They might even start to write back, though not as often as you write to them.
This way, you stay part of their life - Uncle Brian who lives far away and who tells me about where he lives and what he does. It's real connection. It goes directly to the child in question, not through mum-and-dad. And a postcard is QUICK to write, less than a minute. I recommend 'em strongly.