A golden sign of the times

I just got an email from my mother about how a friend of hers is doing "gold parties".  It's like a Pampered Chef party except instead of spending money, you bring your gold jewelry and sell it, going home with money.  While I understand that many of us overspent over the past decade (or several decades) and now need to part with many unnecessary belongings, there's a pang in my core over the flip-flop of the party purpose.  Instead of getting together to talk about the wonderful things we create in the kitchen and really how rewarding it is to have a bundt cake that doesn't fall apart when you flip it over, we're now getting together to share, "Oh, this piece?  Yeah, fifth anniversary.  No, I suppose I don't wear it much anyway.  The money will be good."

What made me the saddest was that my mom said she really liked the idea, but would more so if she hadn't just sold all her jewelry yesterday.  It's when parents make such seemingly throw-away side comments that you get a glimpse into what it is that they don't tell you every day, even when you've been living with them for nearly a year.

This email was quickly followed by one from Williams-Sonoma, reminding me that I really need their panini press.  For a mere $99.95 ($50 off the suggested price!), melty sandwich goodness with grill lines can be mine:

I wonder how many bracelets I'd have to sell for a sandwich.