Hard Times Lesson

Last night when my boyfriend and I were eating popcorn and playing cribbage we started talking about when we were kids and we'd send away for cool stuff.

He told me about his Captain Midnight watch. I told him about my Tom Mix decoder ring with the secret compartment. Actually the ring stood about half an inch high so the compartment wasn't much of a secret.

But we were both thrilled with our purchases.

Here's how kids did it back then. We saved box tops from cereal containers and saved the small amount of money that was required. It took a long time to save enough to order the prize. If moms were smart they didn't allow the tops to be cut off until the cereal was gone.

With enough tops and the cash we mailed them off and waited six weeks to receive the prize. There's no way of explaining the excitement of finding your very own decoder ring in the mail.

This process helped teach one of the most important lessons we human beings can learn. One I tried to teach my children as well.

Delayed Gratification!

My son used to say when he wanted me to buy some big ticket item, "Is it because we don't have the money or are you just saying no?"

My reply would always be, "It's because we don't have the money but I hope I would love you enough to say no even if we did."

This is a little different message than the flat screen TV commercial that, to my amazement, is still being aired in these perilous times.

I want it all. I want it all. And I want it now!


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