ArcaMax

If you are on the fence about this, contact both of them (via email, phone, or text) to say, “I hope your wedding planning is going well. Marcia and I were looking at your website and I was so surprised to be listed as a groomsman! I assume this was an oversight, but I think you forgot to ask me to be part of the wedding party. I’m completely in the dark about this, so please do fill me in.”

Remember this: You will never regret being polite – even when reacting to what you perceive as rudeness.

Dear Amy: My wonderful grandmother would be almost 120 years old today.

She was an artist and a forward thinker who lived to be 97. She was one of the first women to graduate from Oberlin College and earn a master’s degree from Columbia.

Gram was a part-time teacher and a prolific painter. She never sold much of her work so when she downsized, her family took a few pieces and the rest sat in a pile in my parent’s garage.

When my parents downsized, they gave a few of Gram’s paintings to the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren who asked for them. The rest are now in a pile in our home. And to pile on (literally), my dad (her son-in-law) spent his last years making paintings.

Last month, my mother moved to an even smaller place. We got their collection.

At our house, we have over 50 paintings in frames in piles filling any empty space we had. Everyone in the extended family has the pictures they want. These are the extras. What are we to do with them?

We can’t just throw Gram’s or Dad’s paintings away. My husband thinks we should treat them like the flag, with respect, and have a burning party.

I’m not sure my mom or I could take that. We will probably remove the pictures from the frames and roll them up so they take less space.

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