So this morning I brought Hannah her breakfast in bed, scrambled eggs and sausage, because her and her Dad were playing a game of "Guess Who" before they began getting ready for church. I handed it to her and then began analyzing Greg's side of the board to see who he had chosen for his "secret person".
After a couple of seconds, Hannah asked me if I had said a prayer for breakfast or if she needed to pray. I stopped and almost started to laugh as I replied... "No honey, I didn't pray for my Good & Plenties, the BBQ Corn Nuts or my handfull of Oreos."
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
A Reminder of My Roots
Roots? What are they? They are where we began, where we stem from and what keeps us firmly planted.
Sometimes I have moments that remind me of my roots. They remind me of where I came from and allow me to see just how far I've come. They are my link to a reality that I never want to forget. My roots stem from a place where there was a "need" for more money but never a "wanting" for more love.
We had a very humble home & neighborhood and we found happiness in beat-up shopping carts that we turned into our "Herbies". Thrift Stores and lay-away were the "normal" way to shop. We played outdoors in the summer because it was too hot in the house (no AC) and we layered many blankets on at night to keep the heating costs down. Happiness was aplenty when "stuff" was scarce. We had little that the world would have considered "of worth" but to me the memory of those things are priceless. And the few so-called "worthless" items from my childhood that I still have, mean more than words can say and are worth more than anything money can buy. It's a "perspective" thing...it's all about how you look at it.
So, you may ask...What brought this on? What has caused me to want to share about my "roots"? It's simple...a pair of boots. Allow me to explain...
Greg and I were sitting on our couch after eating Thanksgiving dinner. Greg was looking through the newspaper trying to check out all of the "amazing deals" that Black Friday was sure to deliver. At one point he stopped to ask me the first place I planned on going the next morning.
I remember waiting just a second before I answered him. I knew where I wanted to go. I had saw the flier about their "amazing deals" the last time I had been shopping there. I knew it was 1st on my list but I wondered if I should tell him the truth. I almost opted to change my plans just so I didn't have to deal with me having to explain my choice. But something inside me knew that's where I needed to go.
So, I just looked at him with a slight smirk on my face and said..."Goodwill". Greg waited a second before replying to my answer...he wondered why I would want to go to Goodwill when there were so many other places having "amazing deals" (Greg can't stand thrift stores...not his cup of tea, though he's not opposed to me shopping at them). I simply replied something like..."EVERYTHING'S 50% off!!! I can't pass up that good of a deal. Plus the girls need sleepers and onesies if they have them". I thought he'd be more surprised by my choice but he has been married to me for almost 15yrs so I guess he's used to my frugal-ness.
The next morning when I got to Goodwill, I was in some sort of "frugal-lady heaven". I was snatching up the good deals left and right. I ended up getting 55 items for $65 including tax (yeah they tax at thrift stores out here in the land of liberals). So that's like...ummmmmm...let me get my calculator...an average of $1.18 per item!! Amazing...I LOVE IT!!! I got tons of nice stuff...many name brands...all good condition, it was a perfect morning for someone like me. I love that my mother taught me the value of being frugal. I know for her it was more out of necessity than anything else but I value that lesson and I wouldn't change that part of me for the world.
Anyway, at one point I was standing near the shoe area, trying to decide exactly which items in my overflowing cart I wanted to purchase and which, if any, of them needed to go back. I could hear a very loud family in the shoe area analyzing all of the shoes. The parents were handing shoes to each of their children and having them try them on. I glanced over to check the "loud family" out to see if they looked anything like the family I had imagined in my mind. I was close. They looked poor, simply stated. I think there were probably about 5 or 6 kids, all under the ages of 8 or 9yrs. The parents had their hands full.
I went back to what I was doing as my mind began thinking about how they probably didn't have an "option" on where to spend their Black Friday. They didn't have a "map" of the route they would follow to make the best of all the "amazing deals" at all of the other stores. They more-than-likely didn't sift through all of the newspaper ads circling all of the bargains they just "had to have". They had come to the store to get the items they needed at a big discount of 50% off. I know my mom would have appreciated such a deal when we were children.
Then my mind began wandering to what I mentioned before... that I was thankful I knew the value of thrift stores and that even though I didn't "need" to be shopping there, I was thankful that I "wanted" to be shopping there.
Then I heard these words (well not these exact words but they had the same meaning)....
Dad: "Here son, try these on"
Son: "Are they my size?"
Dad: "Pretty close"
(silence as the boy tried on the shoes)
Son: "They fit!! Can I get them Dad?!? Please?!?"
Dad: "Do they fit him?" (asking the wife)
Wife: "They're a little big but he can grow into them"
Son: "Really?!? YES!!! I FINALLY get a pair of new shoes!!!!"
At that point, as I heard the young boys excited words, I glanced up with a grin on my face, remembering how excited I'd be, as a kid, when we found something that "fit" and I could get it. But it only took a half-a-second before my grin faded and I found myself in a zone of contemplation. The picture of the "happy moment" in my head didn't match that actual "happy moment".
You see, in my mind's eye, I'd envisioned a nice pair of sneakers or something...but in all actuality, they were a pair of girl's purple snow boots. I had to quickly turn away because I could feel the stinging of the tears forming in my eyes.
I'm sure there were several times in my childhood when the "wanting" of something to fit came from the "need" of whatever the item was. That kid didn't care if he would be wearing girl's snow boots. What he cared about was that he'd have some sort of warm shoes on his feet. He didn't have the luxury of being picky about a more masculine color or even a shoe made for a boy, he got what he could get and was overly thrilled by them. And if I could have made an audio of the boy's words, covered with sincere happiness and thankfulness, you all would only then be able to fully capture the moment. That little 9'ish year old boy was actually jumping up and down while hugging the boots...while hugging purple, girl's snow boots that were too big for him!!!!
It's moments like these that hit home for me. They take me back to my roots. I've been there. I've probably done something very similar to that boy. I've been teased relentlessly by my peers due to my clothing or home or car or whatever. I've felt the pain that comes from other people's heartless comments or looks, BUT I've also felt the overwhelming joy of gaining an item that I was in need of. I've felt that thankfulness that can only come when a basic necessity of life has been gained.
Some may think they are blessed to have never been through such an experience...I know, without a doubt, that I've been blessed because I have.
Sometimes I have moments that remind me of my roots. They remind me of where I came from and allow me to see just how far I've come. They are my link to a reality that I never want to forget. My roots stem from a place where there was a "need" for more money but never a "wanting" for more love.
We had a very humble home & neighborhood and we found happiness in beat-up shopping carts that we turned into our "Herbies". Thrift Stores and lay-away were the "normal" way to shop. We played outdoors in the summer because it was too hot in the house (no AC) and we layered many blankets on at night to keep the heating costs down. Happiness was aplenty when "stuff" was scarce. We had little that the world would have considered "of worth" but to me the memory of those things are priceless. And the few so-called "worthless" items from my childhood that I still have, mean more than words can say and are worth more than anything money can buy. It's a "perspective" thing...it's all about how you look at it.
So, you may ask...What brought this on? What has caused me to want to share about my "roots"? It's simple...a pair of boots. Allow me to explain...
Greg and I were sitting on our couch after eating Thanksgiving dinner. Greg was looking through the newspaper trying to check out all of the "amazing deals" that Black Friday was sure to deliver. At one point he stopped to ask me the first place I planned on going the next morning.
I remember waiting just a second before I answered him. I knew where I wanted to go. I had saw the flier about their "amazing deals" the last time I had been shopping there. I knew it was 1st on my list but I wondered if I should tell him the truth. I almost opted to change my plans just so I didn't have to deal with me having to explain my choice. But something inside me knew that's where I needed to go.
So, I just looked at him with a slight smirk on my face and said..."Goodwill". Greg waited a second before replying to my answer...he wondered why I would want to go to Goodwill when there were so many other places having "amazing deals" (Greg can't stand thrift stores...not his cup of tea, though he's not opposed to me shopping at them). I simply replied something like..."EVERYTHING'S 50% off!!! I can't pass up that good of a deal. Plus the girls need sleepers and onesies if they have them". I thought he'd be more surprised by my choice but he has been married to me for almost 15yrs so I guess he's used to my frugal-ness.
The next morning when I got to Goodwill, I was in some sort of "frugal-lady heaven". I was snatching up the good deals left and right. I ended up getting 55 items for $65 including tax (yeah they tax at thrift stores out here in the land of liberals). So that's like...ummmmmm...let me get my calculator...an average of $1.18 per item!! Amazing...I LOVE IT!!! I got tons of nice stuff...many name brands...all good condition, it was a perfect morning for someone like me. I love that my mother taught me the value of being frugal. I know for her it was more out of necessity than anything else but I value that lesson and I wouldn't change that part of me for the world.
Anyway, at one point I was standing near the shoe area, trying to decide exactly which items in my overflowing cart I wanted to purchase and which, if any, of them needed to go back. I could hear a very loud family in the shoe area analyzing all of the shoes. The parents were handing shoes to each of their children and having them try them on. I glanced over to check the "loud family" out to see if they looked anything like the family I had imagined in my mind. I was close. They looked poor, simply stated. I think there were probably about 5 or 6 kids, all under the ages of 8 or 9yrs. The parents had their hands full.
I went back to what I was doing as my mind began thinking about how they probably didn't have an "option" on where to spend their Black Friday. They didn't have a "map" of the route they would follow to make the best of all the "amazing deals" at all of the other stores. They more-than-likely didn't sift through all of the newspaper ads circling all of the bargains they just "had to have". They had come to the store to get the items they needed at a big discount of 50% off. I know my mom would have appreciated such a deal when we were children.
Then my mind began wandering to what I mentioned before... that I was thankful I knew the value of thrift stores and that even though I didn't "need" to be shopping there, I was thankful that I "wanted" to be shopping there.
Then I heard these words (well not these exact words but they had the same meaning)....
Dad: "Here son, try these on"
Son: "Are they my size?"
Dad: "Pretty close"
(silence as the boy tried on the shoes)
Son: "They fit!! Can I get them Dad?!? Please?!?"
Dad: "Do they fit him?" (asking the wife)
Wife: "They're a little big but he can grow into them"
Son: "Really?!? YES!!! I FINALLY get a pair of new shoes!!!!"
At that point, as I heard the young boys excited words, I glanced up with a grin on my face, remembering how excited I'd be, as a kid, when we found something that "fit" and I could get it. But it only took a half-a-second before my grin faded and I found myself in a zone of contemplation. The picture of the "happy moment" in my head didn't match that actual "happy moment".
You see, in my mind's eye, I'd envisioned a nice pair of sneakers or something...but in all actuality, they were a pair of girl's purple snow boots. I had to quickly turn away because I could feel the stinging of the tears forming in my eyes.
I'm sure there were several times in my childhood when the "wanting" of something to fit came from the "need" of whatever the item was. That kid didn't care if he would be wearing girl's snow boots. What he cared about was that he'd have some sort of warm shoes on his feet. He didn't have the luxury of being picky about a more masculine color or even a shoe made for a boy, he got what he could get and was overly thrilled by them. And if I could have made an audio of the boy's words, covered with sincere happiness and thankfulness, you all would only then be able to fully capture the moment. That little 9'ish year old boy was actually jumping up and down while hugging the boots...while hugging purple, girl's snow boots that were too big for him!!!!
It's moments like these that hit home for me. They take me back to my roots. I've been there. I've probably done something very similar to that boy. I've been teased relentlessly by my peers due to my clothing or home or car or whatever. I've felt the pain that comes from other people's heartless comments or looks, BUT I've also felt the overwhelming joy of gaining an item that I was in need of. I've felt that thankfulness that can only come when a basic necessity of life has been gained.
Some may think they are blessed to have never been through such an experience...I know, without a doubt, that I've been blessed because I have.
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