Amateur Mom

Welcome to another episode of “Amateur Mom”. Today I'm revealing a pet peeve of mine. And really, it doesn't have anything to do specifically with being a mom, but I thought I’d include the subject in this series anyway.

repondez s'il vous plait

That’s French & it translates to "please respond" or "respond if you'd please" and word for word means "respond if it pleases you". You might also recognize this little acronym: RSVP.

Zoey’s 7th birthday party is in 2 days. And I have not received any RSVP’s…….The show must go on.

Unless you RSVP, how else am I gonna make sure there are enough snacks & food & punch? How else am I gonna make sure there are enough party favors for all the little kiddies? How else am I gonna know if I should set up the party in the backyard for a large group or on a simple table inside? How else am I gonna know if I can handle it on my own or if I need to call in back-up?

This is not to say I’ve never made an RSVP faux pas. But I’m just trying to spread RSVP awareness. There really should be some sort of public service announcement about it too. Flyers hung on every door. Billboards lining city streets. In fact, just replace the “Missing Child” photos on milk jugs with RSVP etiquette.

“And what IS the etiquette?”, you ask. Call. Call if you’re able to attend the event. And even call if you’re NOT able to attend. Simple. As. That. And try not to wait until the day before. I’ve been known to track people down & flat out ask, “Are you coming? Huh? Huh? Huh?” Which, from what I’ve researched, is quite acceptable to do.

RSVP’ing is a lost art.

And, honestly, when I make invitations from now on I might just omit the whole “RSVP” thing & reword it to something like: “Look, please call me as soon as you know if you’re gonna come to my party because the days go by & I’m wondering & wondering & trying to make my plans around the questionable fact if you’re coming or not but I can’t seem to finalize pretty much everything on my to-do list because I sit here waiting for you to call.” But that will take up a lot of room on the invitation & so I’m not sure if it’s gonna work.

In all fairness, RSVP also stands for “Retired and Senior Volunteer Program”. RSVP is an Australian dating site, a board game introduced in 1970, & a 2002 horror film. There are even albums & songs with the title “R.S.V.P.” A method of displaying information using a limited space is referred to as Rapid Serial Visual Presentation.

So, I can see how you’d get a little confused.

{This post is strictly good-natured sarcasm, not meant in any way to offend the friends I did invite to the par-tay. By the way, are you coming or not?}

♥