Life Musings

I'm still smarting over that floral gift incident that I mentioned a few days ago. It really hurts. I feel as though a knife has been stabbed in my back.

The worst part was when this woman asked me to take a photo of her with the flowers that these other guys gave her. That's like twisting the knife around, gal.

Some guys castigated me for taking offense at this. "What's your problem?" they asked. "Were you just giving her presents so that she could thank you exuberantly? You just wanted to be showered with thanks, didn't you?" Obviously, they missed the point. I was perfectly happy with the level of thanks that she initially showed me. The problem was that her reaction to these other fellows' gift was way over the top, compared to how she reacted to mine. This is especially true when you consider that my own present cost more and required a great deal more thought and preparation.

In effect, by having me take that photo, she was saying, "Well, his gift was okay, but I vastly preferred the flowers that these other guys gave me. Forget about his present; I want to remember their presents instread." That wasn't very classy, girl. Not in the least.

And do you know what? I really feel like this is a slam against my masculinity. I feel that it's a reflection of me as a man. After all, no offense to these guys, but my present was superior in every way. I also put in way more effort than these other guys did. It's hard not to conclude that she felt these men were worthy of exuberant thanks, and that I wasn't.

And that stinks.