My Cousin: We Ain't Rich Like You

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Here's the thing: I love my cousin. Amanda. As a matter of fact, she's my FAVORITE cousin. She's the most thoughtful, family-oriented member of our family. Always showing up to out-of-town family events. She's the sweetest cousin that ever graced this planet.

Let's start from the beginning...

March- We flew to CA for my cousin's fiancé's bridal shower. The airline tickets were hundreds of dollars. Mom and I both chipped in for a steam mop as a present for her.

April- My brother's fiancé's bridal shower that we hosted. I also had to spend money on a present for THIS one too. A pet cam. It wasn't too expensive but I still had to pay.

June- My cousin's wedding in Texas. The flights were expensive. My mom, sister, brother-in-law and I split the cost of our hotel room. We all gave money to the bride and groom for their present.

August- My brother got married. In Washington. Even MORE flight tickets and presents were bought.

September- My brothers' birthday

October- My sister's baby shower, her present, her birthday present that I chipped in almost a hundred dollars for. My uncle's present I chipped in fifty.

Let's begin the rant, shall we?

My aunt's birthday's coming up. October. The month of birthdays. My uncle, sister, aunt, second cousin, brother-in-law. I don't know what it is about January. Maybe it's the new year. Or the cold winter that makes couples cuddle up in bed and do... some adult stuff (I'll spare you the details). But that's another rant for another time.

Amanda invited us to her house to celebrate her mom's birthday. I was really looking forward to it. Seeing my family, eat dinner, have some cake, play some games, whatever.

But that's not happening anymore.

She texted my mother earlier.

The guests have to pay fifty dollars to have dinner at her house. I guess she booked a chef who's gonna cook the dinner for us. First of all, we didn't want the chef. You did. And second, my mom, dad and I would come together. That's a hundred and fifty dollars right there.

Yo, Amanda! We spent thousands of dollars this year alone. Between showers, presents, weddings, traveling. The last thing we wanted was to pay fifty dollars to go over to my cousin's house to see my aunt on her birthday.

I'm sorry, Man Man, but we're not rich like you. I love you, but spending even more money??

I don't love you that much.