Or, since my family is Italian, not Jewish, should I say "Mamma Mia, the guilt!?
This is neither high school or 80's related, but after a guilt-ridden encounter with my grandmother this weekend, I felt compelled to post these letters.
So, I went to the University of Texas at Austin--a HUGE school. And, like many from my generation, I took more than four years to graduate. So I was graduating at Christmas. At UT, many students don't attend the official graduation ceremony. It's very impersonal and boring, what with the huge number of students. You literally hand the announcer a card with your name on it as you walk across the stage, grab your Xeroxed letter stating you'll get your diploma in the mail, and walk off. I never planned to attend. About a month before I finished, my parents started asking me about graduation, and when I informed them I wasn't going to walk, they freaked. Apparently, when your parents spend God-knows how much money on your education, they want to see you walk across that stage, dammit, never mind the expense. So, at the last minute, I ordered some announcements and bought a cap and gown. Sent the annoucements out to family only, and received countless phone calls and letters from my furious grandparents
insisting that the late invite was essentially a non-invite as there was no way they could get across the country in time to attend. I bet they're still pissed about it almost 20 years later. Here's one gem I found in my stash of letters:
And here's a family newsletter, sent by my grandfather ONE YEAR later, still referencing their disappointment, and driving the point home by emphasizing how thrilled they were to attend my bother and cousin's graduation.
Mind you, this was the only family newsletter my grandfather ever wrote.
Whomever says the Jews have the market cornered on guilt haven't met my Italian family!
