Susan Turns 70 and Throws A Party

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February 22nd, 2012

A recession is as good a time to celebrate as any

We spent the evening at Susan’s 70th birthday party on Tuesday evening. It was a modest affair in the local church hall with many guests, there must have been 60 or 70, and lots of good finger-food. Had we known about the food part we wouldn’t have eaten dinner; I can snack on smoked salmon for hours… Susan looked well and spent the evening chatting to her guests. She also gave a very emotional speech of thanks to everyone.

The economics of a Recession Party

Susan doesn’t have a bean to her name so I guess that she may have taken a small loan to pay for the food. The hall was probably free and there were no other expenses. The drinks were Coke, Sprite and other sodas and the single bottle of scotch on the table remained unopened throughout the evening. Plates were plastic in colors selected to match the paper table-cloths and napkins and the flatware was chromed plastic. Despite the obvious strict budget arrangements, the tables looked great. They were decorated with little vases of wild flowers and grasses probably picked from a nearby field and sprinkled with little silver plastic sea shells. To my delight they were also sprinkled with candies and chocolates.

It must have been a challenge

When Susan decided to celebrate she must have thought everything out very carefully and built herself a tight but realistic budget. In circumstances like hers, a budget is probably a major part of her life.What’s more, she understands the strict discipline that’s necessary to stick to every cent of her budget. No extras and no deviations!

Susan

Susan is a widow – twice. Her first husband collapsed and died in his forties and left her with two teenage children. The second husband, an older man, died when Susan was in her mid-fifties. Neither left her much and she has worked all her life. A few years ago she was laid off her job as a secretary at the university and she ran around frantically seeking work. These days she works part-time at the university who hire her as a temp without any social welfare benefits. She also has some other part-time job in town.

The birthday gifts

One of Susan’s friends asked her if there was anything particular she preferred for a birthday present and Susan said she would prefer money as she had some expenses that she has to pay. The word was passed around, I was asked to do a small painting for a communal birthday card and the guests were asked to sign the card and drop their gifts in an envelope which was handed to Susan. I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the act of handing over a cash gift was handled – there was no embarrassment on either side and the guests seemed delighted to be able to help Susan. Susan thanked everyone for coming to help her celebrate this important milestone in her life and we went back to the food.

Good party

My wife and I rated this as a good party, truly modest and enjoyed by all. Happy birthday, Susan!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 1:06 am and is filed under Employment, Finance, Money, Payday Loans, Personal / Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Susan Turns 70 and Throws A Party

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