The brat and his parents strike again

Question:
If you knew that your parents earn very little, and sometimes nothing at all, would you tell them that your child - their grandchildren - had complained about a lack of Christmas presents from grandpa and grandma?


Answer:
For some idiots, yes.

So now poor grandpa feels horrible and is trying to find money to buy that brat a present.

Demonstrating a further lack of brains, those two idiots - none other than Josh's eldest brother and Moley-Moley - informed dad-in-law that their precious little brat has been yearning for a particular lego spaceship set.

I was furious with dad-in-law's decision to buy a gift for the brat just to appease him. Whatever happened to good old discipline? I would have gotten a good whipping from daddy if I were rude enough to demand a gift.

Sidetracking a little now, to remind you why I call that kid a brat - days before his birthday this February, the kid came up to Josh and me and demanded to know what we were getting for him as a present.

When we told him we had no time to shop for his present, he flashed us a snotty look and said, "Hello! You have only today to buy it because it will be my party tomorrow."

Argh.

I told dad-in-law that the brat deserves nothing since he dared to make such a complaint, and age is no excuse for such behaviour. At eight years old, he is old enough to know what is right and wrong.

I was so boiling mad that I even boo-boo'd brother-in-law's insensitivity and lack of intelligence. Everyone in the family knows how poor the old folks are now, after their business went bust. While dad-in-law was able to occasionally sell off some fabrics or curtains, he would take a bus or train just to deliver the goods. That's how he tries to minimise expenses.

I refuse to see dad-in-law waste whatever money he has on a worthless person.

By the look of pain on dad-in-law's face, I suspect I may have gone overboard with my frank crticism. Ah well, truth always hurt.

In addition to this incident, Josh received a text message from his brother who once again, specified the product we should buy for his son for Christmas and the amount we needed to pay.

What cheek!

That got Josh and I really angry again, and we thought up a load of best possible replies:

"Thanks for the offer, but no. We have no intention of buying anything for your son."

"Sorry. No money. Why don't we gift your son that ugly pair of champagne glasses you gave us as our wedding gift? Those things have no place in our new apartment, but we're sure they will look beautiful in your son's room."

"Aiyah! We had already bought him a gift. It is a book on manners. We think he needs that more than anything else."

"Thanks for the offer, but no. By the way, we are moving house and we have been dying for a Nespresso machine for the longest time. You can get us that. It costs only a little over S$400. Thanks!"

I voted strongly for the last one, and proposed to Josh that we each pop the fella a text message before our birthdays every year to demand a gift. :)

We also have a good mind not to buy the brat any presents for the next few years, and give him only a $2 hongbao for Chinese New Year.