Did you get a graduation present from your parents?

I got luggage. It was a very subtle hint.

 

nah, we were poor when i was in high school and graduated. i didn't get any help with college expenses or any of that. so i worked. my little brother and sister had all the sports and camps and goodies, stuff like that. i don't resent it at all. life was a lot easier for them and cheaper, plus my dad got a better job, started receiving his social security and navy retirement. there was just a hell of a lot more money around after me and my older brothers were gone.

at first i was worried that it would make them spoiled and mean and selfish. but it didn't do any of that. they're both generous hearted people, they're not selfish, and they're more than willing to help out as much as possible. well, as much as the next teenager. jocelyn is still casting about a bit, she's so good at everything that picking one thing is pretty hard. but she doesn't sponge off my mother. she does all the repairs around the house, helps out wherever she can. this from a spoiled teenager who had her own credit cards and attitude problem.

 

I Did Not Expect Anything...

money is Tight...

And I Would Not want Anything Anyway...

Takes my mother Enough Effort for me to Accept a Birthday Present From Her...

 

Gimmee Gimmee Gimmee!!!!

 

I did get a grad present from my parents. They each went in on halves on a cheaper laptop for me. I wasn't expecting anything, really. I was happy with my gift.

My sister, who is older, I believe got some piece of small jewelry she lost. Her gift probably was of a lesser value BUT our situations were different. At the time of my sister's graduation, she was 6 months pregnant. My parents bought her all her maternity wear and baby stuff. They also contributed to helping out with paying for some stuff for the house her and her current bf were building. They threw her a huge grad party, complete with a huge firework display and a couple of kegs (yeah, it did look tacky, considering she was pregnant) Overall, they spent probably 10X more on my sister in her year of graduation. They continue to do so. I'm not bitter or jealous because I know my mom especially is just trying to provide for us accordingly. It just turns out that I can provide for myself indepedently and my sister cannot. It's not my money, and I'm certainly not going to tell them how to spend it.

I don't agree when parents say they treat their children equally. I don't necessarily think they should be either. Sometimes it can sting, but I suppose that's when you need to look back at all that you do have and start looking at the situation from an optimistic standpoint.

 

the closest thing I got to a graduation present from my parents is a sit-down conversation asking me when I plan on moving out. :ack: True story.

 

My mom threw me a huge graduation party, so that was enough of a present for me. She's always gone almost to the extreme to make sure that gift-wise, myself and my younger bro and sis are equal. As far as housework, yup, I got saddled with the brunt of that. Our "dad" (he's their biological dad, he adopted me) on the other hand, never even tried to seem fair. My brother (20) just got a brand new firebird, and his dad is getting him a motorcycle "just because". My little sister (15) drops around 200 dollars weekly on clothes and crap, and that doesn't include the gifts she receives for birthdays or christmas. The only part about it that really frustrates me (other than the fact that neither of them understand the value of money, and he's basically assuring that my little sister is gonna have serious issues with the "real" world when she moves out(she thinks 90 bucks for a pair of jeans is a "sale"! )) is that he makes no secret of it, except to them. He'll tell them "Oh yeah, I just sent your sister a check for 1500 dollars.":cuss: And of course they believe it.

I have to say that it's weird, what with you being the middle kid, that you'd be treated this way though. I mean, why do it for the first kid, skip the second, and then do it for the youngest?

 

My situation is a bit different. My older brother is not my dad's biological child. My grandparents pretty much raised my older brother because my mom wasn't even 18 when she had him...

So basically I'm my dad's oldest...if that makes any sense.

 

I didn't get a graduation gift from high school or college, but then again gifts aren't really that big of a deal in my family. We've rarely exchanged gifts since I graduated high school.