I'm only doing one of the stuffs for Stuff Portrait Day because it is a blog post all its own.

When Rob and I got engaged, there was much talk of choosing a china pattern. Not talk by me or Rob, but by all the older women in our families.

"Kelly, have you chosen a china pattern?"

"Oooh, I bet you can't wait to select your china pattern!"

"Make sure to tell me what your china pattern is so I can buy you some place settings."

I responded to each of these people the same way: "I am not selecting a china pattern. I don't want china."

And here is where I reveal the non-girly, non-traditional side of myself: I THINK CHINA DISHES ARE DUMB. They are impractical. And most of them are flowery. I hate flowery. I have seen some elegant sets, but I cannot see the point in owning them. China dishes are appropriate for ladies who wear white gloves and sip tea. Which I don't. Or for people who have fancy schmancy shindigs. Which I don't. Or for people who like to honor tradition even if it doesn't make sense for them personally. Which is fine, but I don't.

So, in preparing for our wedding, we did not select a china pattern and we did not register for china.

I graduated from college a month before our wedding. One day soon after my graduation, my grandmother showed up at my parents' house, where I was living, with lots of bags from Belk. She said, "I brought your graduation present." And guess what my graduation present was?

Mmm-hmmm, CHINA. Four place settings, some platters, and the creamer and sugar bowls. Super.

My mom and Rob's mom were kind enough to purchase the rest of the set for us. Because really, what is even dumber than having 8 or 12 place settings of china is having only 4. So for the whole next year, CHINA is what we got for every occasion. Happy birthday, here's some china. Merry Christmas, have some china. Happy anniversary, here's the rest of the fucking china.

Then came the issue of whether or not to display it. Displaying china is SO GIRLY! Eew. But my grandmother kept telling me she couldn't wait to come visit and see the dishes. I was able to put her off for over a year because Rob and I lived in a small place that didn't have room for a hutch (or "china closet" as old ladies call them). But then we bought our house and Grandma insisted we display the dishes.

So we bought a nice dining room set, which I love, that included a hutch for the goddamn china dishes. They are prominently displayed in our dining room. I'll admit that it looks nice. However, displaying china is just not me at all. And I have never used the dishes. Not once.

I know I sound like an ungrateful brat, but I'm really not. Certainly, I was touched by my grandmother's gesture, but it bothered me that she went against my wishes and wasted money on something I will never use, something she KNEW I didn't want. Mostly, though, I just hate having feminine traditions inflicted upon me against my will.