I'm Officially a Bad Uncle
Jul. 25th, 2009 03:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bjarvisI'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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no subject
Date: 2009-07-25 10:10 pm (UTC)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.