Wednesday, August 03, 2005

From panic to panic...

Thanks for your feedback, I'll stay with this project and stop fretting for now. There's plenty else for me to tie myself into reefknots over.

This is invitation week. I'm trying to contact everyone who is on the invitation list on my side to see if they can come. Many are overseas, and if they're unlikely to make it then I'm not spending $5 a piece on sending them a lush-looking invite. I'm also hoping to free up some space to invite people I want at the wedding. I always vowed if I ever had a wedding I would invite everyone I'd want at a big party, but it hasn't come out like that.

On the list there are relatives. Relatives I like. Relatives I don't mind. Relatives I quite dislike.

My closest friends are all on, but several live in London, Hong Kong or Bangkok and so most are unlikely to make it. Neither is my little sister. This leaves me with heavy boots, to plagiarise the fantastic book I just finished.

There are friends who I see or hear from infrequently who I've had to put on the maybe-list. I don't like having a so-called B-list, but it's inevitable if you hit a self-imposed ceiling, and it's easy to impose ceilings when you're shelling out on good food and grog all night. They aren't B-list because I don't like them, they're maybe-list because of all the people who have to be invited.

Which means every cancellation can be put to good use. And I'm not overly close to most of my relatives. Yet I must admit feeling a bit, I don't know, miffed that not one member of my mother's family is likely to come over. They're in the UK, so it's individually understandable, as it is with my overseas mates.

But collectively?

The fact that at a wedding full of relatives not one member of that wing of my family will be present is significant given that I'm my mum's only child. I think she'll be sad about it, I think it will drive home her sense of isolation that no doubt she's felt ever since moving across to Papua New Guinea and meeting and marrying an Australian in the 60s. Though I can't blame any of them individually, collectively it's disappointing. Pounds trade pretty favourably for dollars. Cheap airfares are everywhere in blighty. You get that, I guess.

Still, if in the wash I get to invite a couple more real friends, and they know how to enjoy a beer and a laugh, it will turn out ok...

5 comments:

Armagnac Esq said...

Sorry Le D, this site's anonymous.

Le D said (with slight alterations):

"You know how much I love lists. I think if I were in your position, I would make a list from the person that I would most want there to the person I would least want there, and work out how many people could be accomodated, and then cut off the list at that point. Ultimately, it's the day *you're* going to remember, not distant acquaintances and absent relatives. Surround yourself with friends and other good people.

I like seeing the two sides of **BEEEP BEEEEP**. Keep this up!"

Armagnac Esq said...

TO which I'd say: I always swore that'd be how it was, but it has just gotten a bit out of control...

Anonymous said...

I know this sounds like guilt tripping,a nd it probably is, but can you send the word out to family members ythat you're extremely disappointed not ONE of them can make it out here? perhaps they can pool together fpor an airfare if that's ht eproblem. maybe htey all thoguht , ah, we won't give it serious thought, someone else surely will go. put it in the too hard basket. i think it's worth being upfront with them, cause this si the sort of thing that will linger, despit eyour best intentions.

Armagnac Esq said...

It'd be tempting... but ah well, means I can invite one or two more mates with any luck.

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