Early Departures: too tacky to hang around!

The timing of arrivals and departures from social engagements can be tricky. You probably want to avoid being first to arrive, last to leave (unless, of course, you're the best friend or co-host), but how late is fashionably late and how late is just rude? And where is that fine line between "making an appearance" and barely showing up?

It's a tough area, ladies and gentlemen, and there aren't really clear answers. But here's something I know to be as true as no white shoes before Memorial Day: it is TACKY to leave major events prior to the major event. I'm not talking about leaving before the cake is cut, I'm talking about leaving so early you may as well have not come.

Case and point: do not leave graduation before the person you came to see has received her diploma. A friend of mine spent years in school only to have her grandparents leave while "Adams" and "Anderson" got their diplomas - even though THEY gave her a last name approximately 22 letters of the alphabet later.

Sure, it's hard to wait around sometimes. And sometimes you've got multiple events in one day - but let's AT LEAST try and be there for the main event. Do you leave the Fourth of July picnic while the sun is setting? Do you leave a baptism before the baby gets water poured on it? Do you leave a New Year's Eve party before the midnight champagne? Do you leave a football game at the end of third quarter?

Not if you have class you don't.