Don't you have dishtowels that are raggy? Pots with warped bottoms that won't sit flat on a burner? Really cruddy-looking baking pans? I still have the vegetable peeler that I bought to start off my "trousseau." I think it cost 49 cents at the time.
And while we're at it, how come brides get lingerie showers? Mature ladies are the ones who need them! New nightgowns, lacy panties, whatever. (Maybe this is the place for the prior "warped bottoms" comment . . .) And towels--I still have one set of towels I got as a wedding present in 1963. Of course, their color is no longer identifiable; I think they were once seafoam green.
So yesterday I shopped for the shower this Saturday. They are registered at Bed Bath & Beyond, a store I'd never entered before. It's clearly designed for shower shoppers, with a computer printout of the desired articles, helpful and friendly salespeople, and free gift wrapping. I found what I needed and wandered about while waiting for the gift wrap, admiring stacks of towels, piles of gadgets "as seen on TV!" and an amazing variety of pots and pans and utensils. It was tempting; I came close to refurnishing my kitchen. But I'm far too sensible for such a splurge. That was when I remembered Kathy's plaintive question about midlife showers. Maybe we should hold showers for one another as a sign of solidarity.
It's not that we need more stuff. At our age, we've inherited a lot of stuff from our parents and being reasonably frugal, have cleaned, maintained, repaired and stored a lot of our own stuff. In fact, we also talked about being in de-acquisition mode, giving stuff to our children. But, oh, the lure of those shiny new pots and pans--not to speak of new underwear! It would only work, of course, if we threw the old stuff away.