26. Old Gifts For New Partner
I am divorced now, but my ex-mother-in-law was a strange bird. For starters, the ex-in-laws liked shopping for gifts months or even years in advance, such that for the first several holidays with my ex, I received gifts that they had picked out for his ex-girlfriend. It didn’t go so far as to have her name on the items, but they were very clearly intended for her with her favorite colors and motifs (stars and moons) all over everything.
I guess they assumed the items were generic enough that I wouldn’t know, and maybe it was my ex’s fault for telling me so much about his ex-girlfriend, but I knew these were leftover gifts from his last relationship! I dutifully and diligently wrote polite thank you notes and then either sold, donated, or gave the items to my ex if he found them useful.