What’s the buy back policy on relationships?
Have you ever thought of your relationship as a commodity? Something you could take apart – put together – look at it in a 360 degree view and ponder… “Do I really want this?” Most importantly – “Can I take it back?’ Can I get a refund?
Relationships don’t come back with a receipt, a buy back or return policy, but sometimes in order to get an external view of these dynamics (and people in our lives) we need to take a step back. A most clever individual might be able to view ones self this way – but there will always be that blind spot you can’t get to.
If you were to take your relationship, package it and put it on a shelf, would anyone buy it? Is it one of those Brand named products that are popular so everyone ‘buys’ it…but you really don’t need it? You take it home and show it off to your friends…and then put it on the shelf and shrug your shoulders? Maybe you have a no name relationship that isn’t so popular that doesn’t get as much … advertisement but actually works pretty well at a much more reasonable cost. I guess we can think of people in the same context if we want to get more specific. I wonder if we did look at things more like this (in a jovial matter of course) – we may find ourselves asking some pretty interesting questions- here’s a progressive look…
‘Why did we buy that statue again? Its scaring the children – get rid of it.’
‘How about that toy truck we got Bobby? It was the in thing at Christmas but the small defective parts resulted in a complete recall.’
‘Why am I with woman? She is an older model, not a slick as the new versions – but she is durable and doesn’t cost too much to fix. I don’t want to have to take her to the therapist every time she sees me talking to a female coworker.’
‘Uh, this guy is really crowding my wall. I don’t know what to do with him! Every time I shift him around on the board he covers all the stuff I really need to get to. I need to keep him though – even though his membership expired in ’05, I think I dunno …what if they renew his membership? What IF? ‘
Or that friendship gone awry, like an old Barbie that you just don’t want to play with any more. It still has its delights – but the fun is over. You want to put it out for the diabetes association or for goodwill drop off. You don’t want its new owner to mistreat it – and you don’t even want to find a replacement. You just want it gone.
As a child, I preferred the Gem Doll. Gem Dolls were unique, edgy and at the time more flexible – and had purple skin AND hair! They totally broke the mold of the ‘ho-hom’ All American Stick dolls
Barbies are nice. They’re cute, fashionable – look good on the arm. They are the envy of all the girls (and some boys) in the neighbourhood. But I don’t want mine anymore. The paint is washing off and I don’t like what’s underneath. And no matter the variety you think you have – after about a month they all look the same. Naked and bony. There was always something condescending about her – the way she was smiling all the damn time for NO reason. The way the mommy Barbie balanced her newborn on her 24 inch waist. She wanted to be everyone and anyone. She could be a doctor, a waitress, a prom queen – anything you wanted her to be – but then you’d take her home and you’d have to do all the friggin work. Make her look after her kids, make her do a back walk over – make her do the splits. She just stood there and looked good. . So when you’ve had a Gem Doll – the Barbie just doesn’t have the same appeal and is just not worth all the damn trouble. The accessories are too expensive and the broken pieces difficult to source.
Its too late now to take her back to the store of course. They have a 30 day policy – with receipt. I lost that receipt a long time ago – and all the time I spent playing with her was overshadowed by the time spent trying to fix her. She didn’t want to be fixed. She was made un-fixable. Only the person that created her would know what to do. So let them do their job and I’ll do mine.
P.S.
Gem is truly outrageous!
Denise
