Today was my niece’s bridal shower.  I gave her the recipe box before the shower and maybe it was the wrong time as she was had a lot going on.  I think I had too high of expectations for how she would react to it and the card I made for her.  I should have let her open the box with her other gifts but I had so many things for her to open, I didn’t want to miss seeing her reaction.

They have an unusual custom for bridal showers in Youngstown,  and I’m nor sure if they do this elsewhere.  The bridesmaids open the gifts and cards then hand them to the bride who holds them up and thanks the gift giver for their present.   I’ve always seen the bride open the gift and card and then thank the gift giver, but it’s not done that way in Youngstown.  Anyway, she seemed to like her gifts but as I said, I think my own expectations were the problem.  I guess when you put so much time into a project, you want the receiver to be really happy with it.  I wouldn’t say she was overly thrilled but she was really happy with the family recipe book she requested.  She asked for a book that had recipes in her grandmother’s handwriting (her grandmother passed away when she was only three, so she wanted a keepsake.)  I bought the book and cards based on our niece’s choice and had her aunt’s, mother, grandmother on her mother’s side, and her new mother-in-law, write as many recipes as they wanted.  The book was full of recipes and I made sure I found ones in her grandmother and grandfather’s writing.  It was the only gift that she opened that she cried about and that really made me happy.  She’s always been important to Rich and I as she’s not only his only niece, but also his goddaughter.  We wanted to make sure her gifts made her happy and have always tried to make sure she would not be disappointed with whatever gifts we got her.  So although she loved the recipe book, the box seemed to be kind of a letdown. I guess we’ll know when we get the thank you note.  Time will tell.

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