My stepbrother Doug and his wife Trudy made a really sweet gesture and sent me a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate as a get-well gift. Normally, I would simply write a thank you note, grin, and immediately cash it in.
The thing is, Trudy is about ten months pregnant with their first kid, and I feel really bad taking any sort of money from them at this point. Granted, they’re both well-paid individuals from absurdly wealthy families, but still, I feel like I’m stealing from the kid.
So, the question arises of what to do. The thank you note is already sent, but the question of what to do with the gift certificate itself perplexes me a bit. Should I:
1. Use the money to purchase a gift for the impending child?
2. Buy them a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate as a way of giving the money back?
3. Just spend it and stop fucking worrying about it?
Option 2 struck me as the funniest option, but I have a feeling if I did that, I’d end up with another $20 gift certificate from them instructing me to keep it, dammit.
Option 1 presents a problem because I haven’t purchased gifts for the births any of the other stepnieces and stepnephews (i will have 7 after this one is born) born since my dad and Ray Ann got married.
There’s a strong belief in the buy for one, buy for all theory in Ray Ann’s side of the family, which would present jealousy problems for them and and financial issues for me since her family is quite large, so I’m thinking that one may not be a great idea, either.
However, I’m still somewhat troubled going with Option 3, for the aforementioned reasons. I’d give the money to charity or something if it were actual money, but it’s a gift certificate, so that’s not really an option.
I’m debating asking my dad what the hell he makes of the gift, although he probably has no clue, either. Anybody out there have any advice for me on this one? If so, email me Amusing advice will be posted, with the permission of the sender.
And sorry, “Give it to me!” is not amusing.