In contrast, my good friend and her husband stay in one of many nicest and most fascinating neighborhoods on this space, and so they have a ravishing residence with hardwood flooring, a eating room, transformed bogs, and so forth.
Our home is, frankly, a dump. We’ve mismatched furnishings, no eating room (we must serve dinner on the kitchen desk), previous carpets and a teeny rest room. To be clear, I’m grateful to have a home in any respect, which is out of attain for therefore many individuals on this space.
Nonetheless, I’m too embarrassed to ask anybody over for dinner. We’ve often invited these pals to fulfill us for dinner at eating places, but it surely’s not likely the identical.
The considered these pals having dinner at my kitchen desk makes me cringe with disgrace. I really feel as if it might be impolite to not supply the identical kind of stylish ceremonial dinner expertise that they supply us of their residence. As a result of that’s inconceivable, I’m caught. My husband thinks I’m being ridiculous, and much more impolite by not inviting them to dinner. Who is true: me or my husband?
Why does nobody imagine Miss Manners when she says it’s the effort, not the associated fee, that issues? Or, put one other means, what’s the chance {that a} expensive good friend would sneer at you for not having hardwood flooring — or the worth of such a good friend, if she did?
Pricey Miss Manners: I work in a faculty setting and generally really feel awkward thanking my colleagues. For instance, a colleague assisted a pupil on a matter that’s a part of their job, however not mine. Is it applicable for me to say, “Thank you for handling that”?
I fear it would seem both condescending (as if I feel they work for me) or lazy (as in the event that they took care of one thing I used to be speculated to deal with). Is there a greater method to phrase this that makes it clear that I’m merely grateful that the scholar obtained help and am not making an attempt to bolster any kind of hierarchy?
You aren’t, for the explanations you give, expressing gratitude, however somewhat admiration. Miss Manners believes the proper phrasing will observe should you consider it this fashion, as in, “That was really wonderful of you to help him with that.”
This can remedy the jurisdictional drawback of whose job it was. It might nonetheless sound condescending, however it’s Miss Manners’ impression that students are educated to navigate what seems to be a typical occupational hazard.
New Miss Manners columns are posted Monday by Saturday on washingtonpost.com/recommendation. You possibly can ship inquiries to Miss Manners at her web site, missmanners.com. It’s also possible to observe her @RealMissManners.
