Modernity

There are lots of things in this modern world I refuse to embrace. Or at least I have to be dragged, kicking and screaming to them. But, while it may surprise some of you, I tend to like the breaking down of the walls between many sex-specific functions and activities. What brings this to mind is that I was invited to (and attended) a kitchen shower Saturday night. The son of a guy I used to work with is getting married and I think some of the work folks wanted to do something for the couple. Seeing as how that workplace was never a men vs. women place, it only made sense that men and women would attend. I like that.

Anyway, as for the shower, ... I'd rather have bamboo shoved under my nails than go shopping for a wedding/shower present. Yes, they were registered at a couple of places, but I'd still have to go deal with those kinds of stores and I'd just rather not do that. Fortunately for me, I visited two of my cousins at a local craft show (they're potters) Saturday morning. As I was sitting complaining about how I had to go buy a kitchen shower gift, I realized my cousins had lots of kitchen-themed pottery right there on hand. I ended up getting the happy couple a small mixing bowl with a handle and a spout. Heck, the cousins even put it in a nice bag with tissue paper so I didn't even have to bother with wrapping. The one thing I was missing, though, was an appropriate card.

When I got home, I dug through my stacks of "freebie" cards that various organizations send me and I found a nice one with a wildflower wreath in the shape of a heart -- perfect for a couple getting married. The only problem was that the card was blank -- no heartfelt sentiment included -- and I honestly didn't feel that I knew the couple well enough to come up with my own sincere words of wisdom. That's when I decided to go offbeat and compose an original verse to mark the occasion:

Ode to a Mixing Bowl
If you want to stuff a goose or roast a duck,
well lots of luck.
If, though, you want to scramble eggs or stir a sauce,
then with this bowl you won't be lost.

I felt I had to preserve my reputation as an oddball, but I didn't realize they would open these gifts in front of everyone. I also made the mistake of telling my former boss about the poem and he made sure they knew to read the card aloud. Though it might have been embarrassing in some settings, most everyone there knew me and they thought it was funny. In fact, the mother of the groom said she was going to make sure the ode made it into the scrapbook. Silly me, I didn't even know kitchen showers engendered scrapbooks.

So anyway, it was a good evening and it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun if it had been segregated. So though it pains me to say so, I feel wedding showers should now be co-ed. I've still got a way to go before reaching the same conclusion on baby showers though. Give me time.

P.S. In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that I attended my first co-ed wedding shower more than 10 years ago (I met this guy's daughter there), but it seems they've really only caught on of late. My friends have always been ahead of the times.