Bea Lewis

Q: My daughter received her Masters degree in Social Work and I decided to go for broke, so to speak, and purchased a gorgeous Prada handbag.  (Not cheap by any standards!)  She seemed pleased when she opened the box, but not thrilled.  A few months have passed and I never see her use the handbag. When I asked her about it, she hesitated and told me it wasn’t her style and she exchanged it for a necklace she had been eyeing for some time. I was insulted and told her so. She felt badly and we’ve not spoken to each other for a while. What could I have done differently?

A: (Laurie) Your heart was in the right place, but your daughter’s desire for a Prada bag was not. I’ve had issues like that with my Mom (Bea) as our tastes differ. I wish she would give me cash for a gift so I could get something that appeals to me, but she likes to give me something that I will remember her by. We’ve since resolved this problem by going shopping together; she gives me a budget, I pick out something l like. Now that we live miles apart, we use the Internet to shop together on various websites.