Housewarming Etiquette 101!

My mother brought me up right. She taught my brothers and me that anytime you travel somewhere — could be to visit a longtime friend or an acquaintance, it doesn’t matter — you should always bring a gift. The size of the gift didn’t matter, could be a simple as some homemade cookies, but no matter what, you should express your appreciation for their generosity and kindness.

When we visited friends who recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, of course, we made a quick detour to Target before visiting and bought an outfit and a small stuffed animal. The little baby was more interested in the shiny gift bag that the stuffed Teddy Bear came in than the Teddy Bear itself, but that didn’t matter. The thought is was what counted.

A case of crossed signals

However, my coworkers apparently don’t share my same sense of duty and obligation. Here’s what I mean. I traveled last week to Atlanta, a day after we got a big snowstorm here in the Northeast. Before we drove off to airport, I thought about the question: What could I get my coworkers?

I put a lot of thought into it. What do you get coworkers living in a city in Southeastern United States that has everything? The city has its own wonderful nightlife? Check. Museums? Check. And sports teams? Check. Hmm. Finally it hit me that I might have been thinking about the problem the wrong way.

I instantly came up with a wonderful gift. How about some crummy Northeast Weather to call their very own? I knew I couldn’t bring a snowstorm like the one that hit right before I left. Two to three inches of snow and dangerous snow squalls wouldn’t last long in Georgia with daytime temperatures reaching the high 40s (fahrenheit), but I knew the the crummy weather would still be be the gift that keeps on giving. Yup, hey Atlanta, here’s some heavy, flooding, and even a tornado watch to keep you busy.

A thank you would be nice!

Of course, I brought all of those beautiful things with me. I thought my coworkers would appreciate my generosity, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. They complained about the high winds. They didn’t like having to run to the office basement when a tornado watch hit a little too close to home. On top of it all, they didn’t like my sense of humor and kindness. They turned their back on my giving. One coworker told me that they didn’t move hundreds of miles away to have the snow and icy conditions follow them. Another told me to take my bad weather back with me, stick it where the sun don’t shine, and get the heck out of dodge.

I tried to not take it personal, but is that any way to treat a visitor? How rude. I’ve made up my mind to not return, until Atlanta and my coworkers change their attitude and have nice 70 degree sunny weather waiting for me. Take that Atlanta! 🙂