Money For Nothing: Do we want too much?

[Anubis]

Oh mommy dearest........

what a lovely reference...

[rickifatboy]

.

Some people believe struggling through certain things, or even anything, will make you a better person than someone who doesn't. I'm here to tell you that's patently untrue. Struggling turns you in a person who think everything is or should be a struggle to be worth anything. While I respect this line of thinking and don't belittle anyone's hardships, I definitely know the major benefits of having a life that was more idyllic, so to speak.

Well, this is where you lost me.........

I like the way that you can disclaim your line of thought by adding that you respect that "line of thinking" it still doesn't absolve your fundamental train of thought here.

I grew up on struggle street, we were poor! I got 1 toy for birthdays (getting a school uniform was considered part of my present). I had 1football that I played with until it fell apart.....

My parents struggled thru their relationship, they divorced, I got shuffled between parents.....repeated years of school......went of the rails........

But was it their fault......was it mine......???????

No

It's called life and there are people who had it a lot tougher than I did......

But I feel that I have turned out really well besides all the stuggles......I'm married, have a family, I work to live - not live to work...

I love the finer things in life and I think the struggles of my childhood, youth and early adulthood have only increased my appreciation for all the things I achieve and all that I have.....

If I was running around with a chip on my shoulders I don't think that I would be a Chief Surveyor for a mid-size mining company managing 11 other surveyors, I wouldn't have my house near the beach, I wouldn't be making the most of today and also looking forward to what tommorow might bring......

Struggle Street doesn't always leed to the wrong side of the tracks nor does it perpetuate hardship for ongoing generations - I think it keeps us grounded.....

And Posh, please don't bump into anything or fall over as you travel down that dark, narrow corridor that is your mind......

Cheers, RICK

[Posh]

Struggle Street doesn't always leed to the wrong side of the tracks nor does it perpetuate hardship for ongoing generations - I think it keeps us grounded.....

And Posh, please don't bump into anything or fall over as you travel down that dark, narrow corridor that is your mind......

I think you misconstrued what I was saying and how I was trying to say it. I do not think anything I've said has intimated that having a less-than-Cleaver childhood is the MapQuest to Struggle Street, where one will remain for the rest of their lives.

I have nothing but fond memories from my childhood. I did not struggle and have not struggled and I thank my parents for that privilege. And maybe you can't see that, being a man, but most women don't want to struggle and they damn sure don't want their children to want for anything. That may be at cross purposes with the reality of their situations but that's what we want.

When I see someone suffering, I want to stop it. When I see a kid at Wal-Mart wanting something and mom saying we can't afford that, I hurt. These are maternal instincts that is very hard for some men to really understand.

I would also like to say I'm being candid and speaking for myself, albeit most women feel this way even if they don't say it out loud.

[rickifatboy]

Well, that's where we are on the same page - even though from different perspectives

I feel for those kids too - because I was one and I feel for the parents who wish they could afford what the kids want.....

I bought my daughter a Wii the other day, she first asked for one months ago when the rest of all her friends got one, but we held off - for whatever reasons, she didn't harp or badger us about one, she knew she "might" get one, one day when Mum and Dad can fit it into their budget.

She didn't know she was getting it, she cried when she got it, tears of excitement and appreciation......................her reaction made the giving only more special......

My daughter, wife and I do not want for much in this world, but the work and effort to earn it is quite often more than the reward....

And I send Elli to a private school, I want her to be the best she can be, and all I need in return is her smile..........

Cheers, RICK