What??! RM40 bucks? You've got to be kidding? Here, why don't you do me a favor? Here, grab my arm, twist it and yank it out! You might as well take my leg as well, why dontcha? All that for a sparkly looking blouse that I might not even wear?
This woman is shopping for some clothes. In her hand, she is carrying package after package of toys and baby clothes. She's even got a funky looking musical rattler hanging surreptitiously out of her bag. In the meantime, she's got a car seat that costs 10 times the price she's haggling about right now. That woman, my dear friends, is me!
Sadly, I realize that I have become much of a miser. A miser in the most miserable sense of the word. When it comes to my kids, I have the ability to forget to ask myself the question I am so used to asking "Do they need it? Do you need it? Can they live without it?"
I scout and my eyes fall on these loveliest pair of shoes I have ever seen. It comes with those tiny little toespace (that will squeeze the bejeezus out of your toenails and little toe when you walk) but it would cost me RM29.99. Forget it! It's above 20 bucks, then it's out of the question. I spot a trailer toy in ToysRus and it comes with a hefty 120 buck price tag and I lug it to the counter….then, I pay for it without even hesitating.
What is wrong with me???
It's not so wrong to get something for myself, is it? After all, I earned the money…didn't I?
The problem with me is that I have my perspective, objective, priorities all wrong. My kids need booties they'll only wear for 2 weeks more than I need that blouse (although that darn booties costs me more than triple the cost of my blouse). Jared would surely need the third spoon because he's suddenly grown a third mouth recently. Joshua is going to need the new set of Play-doh because if I don't get it for him, he's going to be a criminal when he grows up.
Oh oh…wait. I just spotted a cassette recorder…the kiddy kind. Yeah, those that comes in a myriad of colors and can record voices and plays back sounds that does not resemble your own….yeah, those. Joshua is going to NEED those too.
Wait a minute, what about that cape for Jared. Uh-huh, he's gonna need those, for sure cause the cape is going to cover his handsome little back from snow…(for your information, I stay in a place whereby it doesn't get any closer to the equator).
Oh my goodness, check out the little socks…the one with Winnie-the-pooh on it! Aaawwwww….it's adorable. I mean, it's black and it's going to make Jared look so much fairer than he is. I bet he needs that.
Those jigsaw puzzles are simply going to make an Einstein out of Joshua. It's gotta. I bet it's gonna. Looking at the bundle of toys and NEEDED toys in my arms, I can only smile. My kids are going to love this. Ah well, maybe next time I'll replace these shoes that's killing me. I don't REALLY mind this handbag that is falling into a million pieces, do I? Nah.
Besides, I can wear my husband's pants…he hasn't complained yet. The good thing is that it isn't falling off, right?
I can live with this.
Marsha Maung is a freelance graphic designer and copy writer who works from her home in Selangor, Malaysia. She loves nothing more than blowing bubbles in the park with her 2 kids, Joshua and Jared. She designs apparel and premium items at http://www.allmomstuff.com and is the author of "Raising little magicians", and the popular "The Lance in freelancing". More information can be found at http://www.marshamaung.com |
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