Michelle, I realize that this is your blog. But it's ironic that you're slapping at SophieCat and suggesting SHE read something YOU wrote about people saying rude things on line that they would never say to someone's face. Do you understand why? Would YOU have called your friend's neighbor "lazy" to her face? Would you have said to her "Clearly, you're just pawning this stuff off to avoid lugging it somewhere else yourself"? That was quite the little snit you and your friend worked up over what many more experienced moms see as a well-intentioned, generous gesture. Jeans are pretty near a uniform among kids; your friend's son is unusual in his dislike of them, and it's beyond ludicrous to believe that his preference is something the neighbor should have registered in her conscious mind. Do you two also believe the neighbor KNEW your friend would refuse the jeans, and so she lay in wait to accost your friend's husband so she could accomplish her nefarious task? In the hands of a better writer, your post might have accomplished what I think was actually your point: \Some donations are more of a burden than a help, and is there a way to refuse them without insulting someone? Sadly, your decision to paint this neighbor as lazy and rude wasn't supported by the evidence you chose to present to us; and your snark about her struck some of us experienced moms as pretty darn rude in itself. That was what SophieCat was responding to. It's your blog; you have the responsibility to use it well and really think about what you're writing in it.

Wow. Most boys DO wear jeans. Most boys are hard on clothes. New jeans are expensive. Exactly how is the neighbor supposed to know that your friend's son doesn't LIKE to wear jeans? The neighbor "forced" this bag on your friend? "Doing the lazy neighbor's work for her?" Oh, get over yourselves, both of you. Why are you both so eager to assume the worst of her? Are there not enough real problems in your lives that you have to invent drama? Is it really that hard to hand the bag back and say, "thank you for thinking of us; John should have told you, though, that Petey won't wear jeans, and he's not going to be [biking/playing football/rollerblading] for awhile yet. I thought you might want these to go to someone who'd get more use out them-- jeans and sporting equipment ARE expensive, and kids seem to grow out of them before they wear them out."