Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"

[Growsonwalls]

I'm getting really tired of people selling zoom seminars. If I have to scroll through my instagram feed and find out about another 10 zoom seminars and master classes I'll scream. 

[RealHousewife]

I'm sure I've said this before, but crybabies. I have someone in my life whom I love, but she bursts into tears without any real provocation. I think this whole "crying is strength" thing has gone too far in our culture. No, it's not healthy for anyone to bottle everything inside, and crying is healthy. But crying every time you don't get your way? Weak and immature.  

[Katy M]

6 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

I'm sure I've said this before, but crybabies. I have someone in my life whom I love, but she bursts into tears without any real provocation. I think this whole "crying is strength" thing has gone too far in our culture. No, it's not healthy for anyone to bottle everything inside, and crying is healthy. But crying every time you don't get your way? Weak and immature.  

If she's bursting into tears over everything, she may have some hormonal or chemical inbalance happening.  She might want to check with a doctor.  And, I'm not trying to be snarky.  I'm being serious. Because that's just not natural.  If she only occasionally bursts into tears for something that seems not to warrant it, it's possible something else is going on and she's just hit the last straw, so to speak.  That happened to me once at work, and I was utterly embarrassed and mortified at myself.

[SoMuchTV]

7 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

I'm sure I've said this before, but crybabies. I have someone in my life whom I love, but she bursts into tears without any real provocation. I think this whole "crying is strength" thing has gone too far in our culture. No, it's not healthy for anyone to bottle everything inside, and crying is healthy. But crying every time you don't get your way? Weak and immature.  

 

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

If she's bursting into tears over everything, she may have some hormonal or chemical inbalance happening.  She might want to check with a doctor.  And, I'm not trying to be snarky.  I'm being serious. Because that's just not natural.  If she only occasionally bursts into tears for something that seems not to warrant it, it's possible something else is going on and she's just hit the last straw, so to speak.  That happened to me once at work, and I was utterly embarrassed and mortified at myself.

My first thought was, there are people who can cry on purpose?  Or better yet, not cry on purpose?  I'd like to have those skills!  But otherwise, yeah, what Katy said.

[peacheslatour]

2 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

My first thought was, there are people who can cry on purpose?  Or better yet, not cry on purpose?  I'd like to have those skills!  But otherwise, yeah, what Katy said.

I can do both. I find crying is counter productive.

[TattleTeeny]

I really hate spiral notebooks that have the perforated line to the right of the coily part, presumably for neat tearing. Mind you, I wouldn't hate it if it actually worked.

Quote

I'm sure I've said this before, but crybabies. I have someone in my life whom I love, but she bursts into tears without any real provocation. I think this whole "crying is strength" thing has gone too far in our culture. No, it's not healthy for anyone to bottle everything inside, and crying is healthy. But crying every time you don't get your way? Weak and immature.  

I literally just started crying over something two minutes ago. A friend of a friend adopted the tiniest cute little dog who had been just neglected by his so-called family. They just didn't care about him (and got rid of him because they wanted to get new flooring). Meanwhile, I don't even know him and I care about him just from seeing a photo (he is some kind of poodle mix and the size of a cat! And his oversized, curly-haired ears make him look like a baby goat). Anyway, she posted a video of him playing with a ball of paper and said that he didn't even know what "playing" was when she first brought him home. And now I am doing it again...oy.

I want to share his picture, but I don't know if that's OK, considering he's not my dog (though if he was, I would cherish him).

Edited December 7, 2020 by TattleTeeny

[peacheslatour]

17 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

I really hate spiral notebooks that have the perforated line to the right of the coily part, presumably for neat tearing. Mind you, I wouldn't hate it if it actually worked.

I literally just started crying over something two minutes ago. A friend of a friend adopted the tiniest cute little dog who had been just neglected by his so-called family. They just didn't care about him (and got rid of him because they wanted to get new flooring). Meanwhile, I don't even know him and I care about him just from seeing a photo (he is some kind of poodle mix and the size of a cat! And his oversized, curly-haired ears make him look like a baby goat). Anyway, she posted a video of him playing with a ball of paper and said that he didn't even know what "playing" was when she first brought him home. And now I am doing it again...oy.

I want to share his picture, but I don't know if that's OK, considering he's not my dog (though if he was, I would cherish him).

I cry over things like this too. I was just watching an episode of Emergency! There had been a fire and the boys rescued a baby goat. The vet was too far away and so they took the goat to the hospital. The chief of thoracic surgery was working on the goat and he laments "We have 500 million dollars of equipment and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of training and we can't save one, damn little goat." *sniff* Got me just typing that out. But problems in my own life? I'm not going to cry about it.

[TattleTeeny]

That got me too! As for crying over stuff in my own life, not too often. But I won't lie--sometimes I have a day.

[peacheslatour]

Just now, TattleTeeny said:

That got me too! As for crying over stuff in my own life, not too often. But I won't lie--sometimes I have a day.

You watch Emergency! too? Cool, I feel like the only one.

[TattleTeeny]

Oh, no--not since I was little! But you just typing it out got me!

[Browncoat]

30 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

"We have 500 million dollars of equipment and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of training and we can't save one, damn little goat."

Because they aren't veterinarians and goats are not people!

Sorry, but that always bugs me, when TV assumes that people doctors can effectively treat animals, too.  (See also MASH).

[peacheslatour]

1 minute ago, Browncoat said:

Because they aren't veterinarians and goats are not people!

Sorry, but that always bugs me, when TV assumes that people doctors can effectively treat animals, too.  (See also MASH).

The doctors didn't want to treat the goat for that very reason. The nurses (especially Dixie) and the paramedics insisted and wore them down. The vet talked the docs through it over the phone but it was very touch and go. I understand what you're saying, I was a vet tech and animals are very different from people. In fact they almost killed him by injecting the wrong thing but they did have a little vet training they remembered from med school and stopped themselves in time.

[magicdog]

2 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

A friend of a friend adopted the tiniest cute little dog who had been just neglected by his so-called family. They just didn't care about him

A pet peeve of mine as well.  My niece just adopted a Chiweenie (chihuahua/dachshund mix) that was abused in his previous home (at least the jerk went to jail for it!).  He's improving, but he's still pretty skittish.  She loves the tough cases!  How hard is it to be certain you're ready for the commitment of a pet??   

Another peeve?  Kids' dreams ruined by faux Santas!  For heaven's sake, don't tell the kid he can't have a toy!!  Especially when it's his parents who are buying it for him anyway!!  

[peacheslatour]

39 minutes ago, magicdog said:

A pet peeve of mine as well.  My niece just adopted a Chiweenie (chihuahua/dachshund mix) that was abused in his previous home (at least the jerk went to jail for it!).  He's improving, but he's still pretty skittish.  She loves the tough cases!  How hard is it to be certain you're ready for the commitment of a pet??   

Another peeve?  Kids' dreams ruined by faux Santas!  For heaven's sake, don't tell the kid he can't have a toy!!  Especially when it's his parents who are buying it for him anyway!!  

Before I was a vet tech, I worked at the Humane Society. You would not believe the shit people do to animals. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

43 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Before I was a vet tech, I worked at the Humane Society. You would not believe the shit people do to animals. 

Please never share those stories without a *Warning* tag.

I can't.

[RealHousewife]

11 hours ago, Katy M said:

If she's bursting into tears over everything, she may have some hormonal or chemical inbalance happening.  She might want to check with a doctor.  And, I'm not trying to be snarky.  I'm being serious. Because that's just not natural.  If she only occasionally bursts into tears for something that seems not to warrant it, it's possible something else is going on and she's just hit the last straw, so to speak.  That happened to me once at work, and I was utterly embarrassed and mortified at myself.

It's an immediate family member that prompted the post. I know you're not trying to be snarky either. I do take mental health issues seriously and have encouraged her myself to get help, but she says there's no imbalance issue. I know personally she's been extremely sensitive and would cry easily her entire life. It was one thing when we were kids, it's another in our 30's. I've battled depression and know what it's like when something minor can set you off. That's not the issue with her. She just cries easily and doesn't try to hold back the way most adults do. She also has the nerve to judge others for crying and never cared when my depression was really bad. So even though I love this person dearly, it's hard for me to cut her slack when she cries over petty things. Most of us have experienced trying to hold it together but not being able to and getting embarrassed. She doesn't really get embarrassed. However I get embarrassed when people ask me about her crying. 

9 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

My first thought was, there are people who can cry on purpose?  Or better yet, not cry on purpose?  I'd like to have those skills!  But otherwise, yeah, what Katy said.

Yes many people can cry on purpose. They even teach you how in acting school. As for not crying on purpose, most of us control our tears as adults better than we do as children. 

[Blergh]

Maybe ranting beats crying a river over this but. ..

 

I'm getting tired of folks in my workplace garage who sit in their cars with all the lights on for quite a few minutes oblivious to the rest of us trying to find any parking space available.  I mean, if they must surf  their gadgets before they start their drives home, why not keep the lights off so those of seeking the parking spaces we need to do our jobs won't waste our time waiting for them to pull out 'any moment now' ? 

[Callietwo]

5 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Maybe ranting beats crying a river over this but. ..

 

I'm getting tired of folks in my workplace garage who sit in their cars with all the lights on for quite a few minutes oblivious to the rest of us trying to find any parking space available.  I mean, if they must surf  their gadgets before they start their drives home, why not keep the lights off so those of seeking the parking spaces we need to do our jobs won't waste our time waiting for them to pull out 'any moment now' ? 

These days most people have their lights set on auto so they come on automatically in dim settings when the car is turned on.  I never touch my lights anymore.  My car lights even change to high & low beams without any action on my end when they're set to auto so people probably aren't even thinking about it.   Doesn't make it less irritating though, for sure.  I hate when they pull up and park, then sit there with their lights on shining directly in your eyes.  I try to be aware but don't always remember.  

[peacheslatour]

19 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Please never share those stories without a *Warning* tag.

I can't.

Oh, I never would share them "Warning" tag or not. It's enough that I have nightmares, I'm not going to share.

[SuprSuprElevated]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Oh, I never would share them "Warning" tag or not. It's enough that I have nightmares, I'm not going to share.

I couldn't even watch Wonderful World Of Disney on Sunday nights when I was a kid, as inevitaby, it was a tear jerker involving a pet or wild animal which has met with illness, injury, or death.  Old Yeller and Bambi scarred me for life.

Edited December 8, 2020 by SuprSuprElevated

[Nicmar]

3 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I couldn't even watch Wonderful World Of Disney on Sunday nights when I was a kid, as inevitaby, it was a tear jerker involving a pet or wild animal which has met with illness, injury, or death.  Old Yeller and Bambi scarred me for life.

where the red fern grows and the yearling ,Benji and the incredible journey, and as well as Far from home: the incredible adventures of yellow dog and countless others...

[Mindthinkr]

23 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I couldn't even watch Wonderful World Of Disney on Sunday nights when I was a kid, as inevitaby, it was a tear jerker involving a pet or wild animal which has met with illness, injury, or death.  Old Yeller and Bambi scarred me for life.

Having gotten a small spoiler about them is the reason I have never watched either movie. My daughter is the same by her choice. We have seen too many things in our lives. We just can’t. I tried to get her to watch The Art of Racing in the Rain, but she wouldn’t. It was one of the few I did see that had an animal in it and yes, my eyes leaked. 

[WinnieWinkle]

I get really irked on TV shows when they have an older couple and they have someone admiring the longevity of a marriage and say "Bill and Jane have been married 26 years" as if that's a really long time.  Well ok, it's not a short amount of time, but when Bill and Jane are obviously at least  in their 60s and have adult kids them referencing 26 years just makes me think the writers failed math in school.  

[ABay]

I wasn't allowed to watch Lassie because I got too upset when Lassie was in danger or hurt.

[annzeepark914]

7 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I couldn't even watch Wonderful World Of Disney on Sunday nights when I was a kid, as inevitaby, it was a tear jerker involving a pet or wild animal which has met with illness, injury, or death.  Old Yeller and Bambi scarred me for life.

Yup.  I had to be careful (and still do!) re: the shows I watched as a kid involving animals. Let's just face it, fellow teary-eyed folks:  we're good people and love (and want to protect) animals.

[SuprSuprElevated]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

Yup.  I had to be careful (and still do!) re: the shows I watched as a kid involving animals. Let's just face it, fellow teary-eyed folks:  we're good people and love (and want to protect) animals.

When I would sit crying from watching some animal based tragedy, my Dad would come over and tell me he loved that I had a sensitive heart.  It's one of the few times he was tender, so that's not a peeve at all.  🥺

[bilgistic]

End of the story first: Maintenance finally arrived with the dishwasher about a half hour ago. Installation is happening now.

Our ancient dishwasher died last Tuesday. It took maintenance two days to come out and verify it was, in fact, dead (motor burnt out). My boyfriend works for a company that sells and delivers, among other things, appliances (he's a delivery driver) for a lot of the hotels and apartment complexes in the area, including ours, and knew that our dishwasher was delivered this Wednesday.

I left the cats in the bedroom yesterday in case they were installing it while I was gone to get my hair color fixed and get groceries. I didn't want the girls getting out nor being underfoot. I was gone about 4.5 hours.

I got home and there was no new dishwasher. My boyfriend talked to the maintenance guys when he dropped off another delivery here. They swore they'd install it "by the weekend."

So I got in bed last night after my boyfriend had been asleep and there's a wet spot in the bed. I'm like ??? Did he sweat? Did he pee? I get up and turn on the light and feel it and smell it--CAT PEE.

It's definitely not the girls' fault and I feel really bad for having to close them up for as long as I did. They've never had an accident, so I know they must've had to go really badly. I'm really pissed at the apartment complex folks because the cost of the stupid "pet rent" alone (what a scam) we've paid in the last seven months alone would've paid for the dishwasher. It shouldn't have taken a week and a half to get a new one. We kept being told they "had to get approval from the bossman" to order a new one. This place is so lackadaisical. My last complex, while it had its share of problems, was on top of maintenance issues.

I know this is a first-world problem, but being able to do the dishes in the dishwasher is something that helps manage my anxiety. There's a huge pile of dishes in the sink right now and I can't take it. We let it pile up again this week. Between my boyfriend, the cats who eat four times daily on two clean plates each time and me, we run the dishwasher every two days.

Long story longer, I had to wake up my boyfriend and strip the bed at 11. Thank god my mattress pad has a waterproof backing or my very expensive mattress (now five-ish years old, but still great) would've been ruined. Thankfully I also had clean sheets in the closet.

What a rollercoaster ride.

Edited December 11, 2020 by bilgistic

[HissyFit]

My peeve today: TV shows and commercials that include the sound of a ringing doorbell. I can't count the times I've hurried from the kitchen to open the front door for ... no one. My paranoid  cat runs under the bed. It's not a biggie, I know, but with the increasing number of commercials for items now available for home delivery -- from meal plans to mattresses -- it's happening more and more often.

[SuprSuprElevated]

21 minutes ago, HissyFit said:

My peeve today: TV shows and commercials that include the sound of a ringing doorbell. I can't count the times I've hurried from the kitchen to open the front door for ... no one. My paranoid  cat runs under the bed. It's not a biggie, I know, but with the increasing number of commercials for items now available for home delivery -- from meal plans to mattresses -- it's happening more and more often.

I posted this about a month ago in the Pets forum - 

[Annber03]

I mentioned once how my cat had heard a doorbell on TV and went running to our front door afterward, which was especially funny since we don't have a doorbell :p.

But yeah, I get that peeve. I feel that way about commercials that use alarm clocks. I've had a couple instances where I'll wake up to an alarm beeping and have that moment of, "Oh, crap...oh, no, wait, that's on TV."

[SuprSuprElevated]

19 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I mentioned once how my cat had heard a doorbell on TV and went running to our front door afterward, which was especially funny since we don't have a doorbell :p.

But yeah, I get that peeve. I feel that way about commercials that use alarm clocks. I've had a couple instances where I'll wake up to an alarm beeping and have that moment of, "Oh, crap...oh, no, wait, that's on TV."

Cell phone sounds.  I'm constantly checking my phone, lol.

[GaT]

5 hours ago, bilgistic said:

we run the dishwasher every two days.

We run ours 2 times a day, 3 cats mean many, many dishes. Our dishwasher is actually partly broken right now, the slider on the top shelf is broken & we can't fix it ourselves. My peeve is that my husband is so paranoid about covid he won't let anybody in the house, including someone to repair the dishwasher. So now I can only use the bottom rack. Seriously annoying.

1 hour ago, HissyFit said:

My peeve today: TV shows and commercials that include the sound of a ringing doorbell. I can't count the times I've hurried from the kitchen to open the front door for ... no one. My paranoid  cat runs under the bed. It's not a biggie, I know, but with the increasing number of commercials for items now available for home delivery -- from meal plans to mattresses -- it's happening more and more often.

Car horns. How many times have you been driving along & heard a car horn blasting at you, only to realize it came from the damn radio.

[SuprSuprElevated]

PSA - Here is a website I used previously when I had issues with a dishwasher.  Basically a user-based Q&A, with (hopefully) helpful advice and resources.  It's where I read that my (2nd) control panel problem I had with my KA dishwasher could be solved by rebooting the dishwasher, which I accomplished by throwing the breaker.  May not help with broken parts, etc., but may provide suggestions for alternatives/cheaper resources etc.

fixya.com

[bilgistic]

41 minutes ago, GaT said:

We run ours 2 times a day, 3 cats mean many, many dishes. Our dishwasher is actually partly broken right now, the slider on the top shelf is broken & we can't fix it ourselves. My peeve is that my husband is so paranoid about covid he won't let anybody in the house, including someone to repair the dishwasher. So now I can only use the bottom rack. Seriously annoying.

Both maintenance guys were wearing masks. One of them wears a cloth mask under an N95 mask. I had the windows open because it's 60 degrees today, and I just stayed away from them while they worked. Our apartment is small (800 square feet), and the kitchen is tiny. I stayed in the living room, which is in the same overall room as the kitchen. There's just a bar with a sink that divides them. I'm super paranoid about Covid, but I felt fine about them being here. They were careful about keeping distance from me and vice versa. I know they're dealing with other residents, but they're only working on things that can't really wait. We've had a hole in the bathroom ceiling from before Covid times from water damage from the upstairs tenants overflowing their toilet. I don't expect it'll be fixed until we move out.

They ripped three large v-shaped gouges in the vinyl on the kitchen floor when they moved the refrigerator to be able to get old dishwasher out and new one in. That's how small the kitchen is. They said they'd "send the vinyl guy out" next week. I couldn't care less about that except it's in the middle of the pathway from the kitchen to the laundry room, so I'll get worn very quickly. I don't see how they can fix ripped vinyl flooring in the center of the floor. Wouldn't they have to lay a whole new floor? It appears to be adhesive or glue-down flooring that comes on a roll, maybe, and is cut to fit, not tiles. It's "wood-look" vinyl with a matte finish.

Edited December 11, 2020 by bilgistic

[SuprSuprElevated]

6 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I don't see how they can fix ripped vinyl flooring in the center of the floor.

It's amazing what fixes are out there.  I'm guessing they will soften/melt some sort of like-colored material, and meld it with your existing flooring.

Or, I could be completely full of it, and they will cut out a section and replace it.

[Bastet]

13 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I don't see how they can fix ripped vinyl flooring in the center of the floor. Wouldn't they have to lay a whole new floor?

No.  The best thing to do is cut out a section along the lines of the pattern and replace that, because other patch jobs generally very much look like patch jobs.  So they ought to be able to get you fixed up.  (Although, if it's a small kitchen, they could decide to just do the whole floor depending on its overall condition.)

I did that to the vinyl kitchen floor in my old condo - I was impatient, wanting to get the refrigerator moved back in after I'd put down new vinyl flooring, so I didn't take the care I knew damn well I needed to take and, sure enough, tore two big gouges in my new floor.  At least being new, it was very easy to cut out and replace a section, but the pattern was such that the repair was always visible to me (anybody else would have to look for it, but I saw it every damn day until I moved out).

[auntlada]

3 hours ago, GaT said:

Car horns. How many times have you been driving along & heard a car horn blasting at you, only to realize it came from the damn radio.

Sirens. Every time I hear a radio commercial with sirens, I start looking around for the ambulance or police car. Then I have to turn the radio off and back on again to determine if it's the radio.

[Calvada]

My peeve for the month of December - holiday cards that come encrusted with glitter.  I have a friend who always sends a card covered with the stuff.  I think she uses a Bedazzler to put extra glitter on her cards.  I've learned over the years not to pull a card from her out of the envelope.  I slice open the envelope over the trash can, carefully reach in and pull out the letter she's inserted in the card.  But I still get fricking glitter on my hands, on the floor, everywhere, which I still will be seeing in June.  But I have to do that careful process with all cards, since I occasionally get glitter cards from other people too.  Getting a card from a college friend should be a reason for joy, not a reason to act like a ticking bomb just arrived at my home.  

[bilgistic]

Plus, cards with glitter aren't recyclable. Don't send me trash.

[Bastet]

3 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

Plus, cards with glitter aren't recyclable. Don't send me trash.

This is why I hate photo cards.  I especially hate photo cards that have not one damn personalized thing on them; mass produced, meaningless crap I'm just going to dump right in the trash.  Thankfully, I don't get many cards anymore and send even fewer out; for the most part, we all email each other or, in a few cases, call.  Personal, no waste - love it.

[Quof]

Glitter is the herpes of the craft world; no one is sure where it came from, and you can never get rid of it. 

[Spartan Girl]

I watched The Prom on Netflix and I enjoyed it, but it reminded me of a recent pet peeve: promposals. Seriously, like gender reveal parties, it was cute when one or two people did it, but when everyone does it these elaborate ones, they’re just STUPID. Teens treat them like marriage proposals — you’re just asking someone to a dance, don’t make it bigger than the actual prom!

[auntlada]

7 hours ago, Quof said:

Glitter is the herpes of the craft world; no one is sure where it came from, and you can never get rid of it. 

 

[annzeepark914]

58 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

I watched The Prom on Netflix and I enjoyed it, but it reminded me of a recent pet peeve: promposals. Seriously, like gender reveal parties, it was cute when one or two people did it, but when everyone does it these elaborate ones, they’re just STUPID. Teens treat them like marriage proposals — you’re just asking someone to a dance, don’t make it bigger than the actual prom!

Geez...wish I could "like" this a gazillion times! And limousines to take middle school kids to their proms (heard about that back in my Raleigh days)? I just don't understand the need to make a big daggone deal about nice but not extraordinary things (don't get me started on going overseas for a wedding proposal). Back to the promposal: I hope these young fellows know she'll say "yes" in advance.

[DrSpaceman73]

Yes I've just come to accept I'm the old man now bitching about these young whippersnappers.    So be it

Promposals are annoying and stupid. 

Gender reveal parties.     Just stop. 

Pretty much anything on tik tok.  Go away.  

[TattleTeeny]

A few of my friends and I had a limo for our junior high prom, though we never bothered to do that for the high school ones (and now that I type it out, I am thinking a limo for non-driving age kids might make more sense than for the older ones who have cars?). But my friend's dad is a pilot and was a co-owner of a car/helicopter service company; I don't think our parents would have bothered if not for that. He also took us out for a very fancy dinner beforehand--we had whatever those bananas-on-fire are called, haha!

[Katy M]

7 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Promposals are annoying and stupid. 

 

I read on the internet (so who knows if it's true) that a mother paid for her son and his girlfriend to go to Hawaii for the weekend so he could ask her to the prom.  I don't even know where to begin with everything wrong with that.  But, come on, whatever happened to "hey, you wanna go to the prom?"

[BookWoman56]

I have never understood the rationale for even having a gender reveal party. If the parents think their family and friends are that obsessed with whether it’s a girl or boy, then just post the info on social media or whatever. There are too many horror stories out there about the materials used in gender reveal parties causing fires, plus all the anecdotes about the father throwing a public hissy fit when he finds out he’s having a daughter rather than a son. I understand customs evolve and gender reveal parties are a trend now , but I really think that it shouldn’t be that big of a deal whether it’s female or male, and that if it is a big deal to one or both parents, they need to find out in a private setting and process their feelings on it rather than surrounded by other people. 

[auntlada]

Middle school and junior high kids have proms? Huh.

I think most gender reveal stuff is dumb, but I do have a friend who had gender reveal cupcakes about her yet-to-be-born baby for her older son and daughters. It was just a family thing, though.

[SuprSuprElevated]

<walks out on a thin, dry limb>

I'm here to say that I think high school graduation parties have gone rogue. Why are we so obsessed with lauding little Johnny and Jane, in the 21st century mind you, for managing to get through 13 years of school?  I would be low-key shocked to find out that anyone graduating in the last quarter century (I'm being a bit generous) is a first generation graduate in their respective families, prompting the need for a tent, a caterer, and a valet to park the cars.  

<backs quietly off limb and out of room>