Etiquette with Miss E

I have recently learned that getting a name on my blog is a big deal among my group of friends. Emily, especially, has been trying for a while to get a nickname... which was hard, because my computer is still non-functional, so my blogging has been minimal. But -- did you see that, Emily? You have a name now!

The occasion?

A couple weeks ago, I sneezed during Mass. A male friend of mine reached out and offered me a handkerchief. I turned it down, more as a result of reflex than conscious thought. A couple days later, the same young man offered a handkerchief to a girl he did not know in the student center, who had chocolate all over her fingers. These instances made me wonder : What happens next?

Handkerchiefs have fallen out of the mainstream. I know 2-3 people who carry them, one of whom is my father. I have never been offered a handkerchief before that day, and I'm willing to bet this experience is common to most women. So, very few women would know what to do after using a chivalrously offered handkerchief.

The solution to my dilemma : I discovered that Emily had been to finishing school. I had my very own etiquette expert! After discussing the question with her, I decided that Etiquette Lessons with Miss E had to be a new addition to my blog. Each week, I will email Emily a question and report her answer to you, my faithful readers. Do you have etiquette questions of your own? Send them my way, and they will make their way to Miss E!


Lesson One: The Handkerchief

What does a lady do if a gentleman offers her a handkerchief and she uses it?

She takes it home and washes it, of course. With giggling and batting of eyelashes appropriate to her level of interest in him. Which, of course, also informs the speed at which he gets it back -- kind of like when your high school crush loans you his sweatshirt. If, as was the case with the girl in the student center, she will never see him again, she has gained for herself a new handkerchief! Except, of course, that girl. Since it was only chocolate on her fingers, she could have folded it neatly and given it back to him.

As a final note, be careful! According to Miss E, any self-respecting lady knows that bodily fluids are a very important matter. The exchange of bodily fluids, as any gentleman who carries a handkerchief knows, is tantamount to the promise of marriage. If he takes your snot home, he might bring a ring back.