The way I was raised

I was talking to a friend today about purchasing a fairly common item for $20. It doesn't matter what the item was (although if you are really interested, I'll bury it in here, I just don't want this to be tagged as only relevant to a certain segment). I told her I didn't want the item because we had a perfectly good version of the item, which cost at least 15 times as much -- not a typo -- and I just couldn't justify buying it, even if it was "only $20."

She asked if I had always been this way? Yup, it's the way I was raised.

I didn't get new tennis shoes just because my "old" ones weren't fashionable anymore. I got new shoes when the old ones were too small or worn out. The first TV I had in my room was a hand-me-down from my grandmother. I got it in 1988 when I was 13. It was black and white, and had a dial. No remote. Big rabbit ears. It worked until I sold it in a yard sale in 2001.

My parents sacrificed to send me to a Catholic High School that is so prohibitively expensive today if we had a daughter she wouldn't be able to go. We tease my parents (I am the youngest of 5, only girl) about our food routines -- Tuna Fish Wednesday, Regular Fish Friday, Hot Dog Saturday, Chicken Sunday. Monday, Tues -- leftovers. But this routine saved them money (not to mention the stress and agita of planning).

McDonald's was a treat, for when report cards came out and I had good grades.
The pea-soup-green (again, not a typo) carpet in my room had its origins during the Johnson administration and was still there when my parents sold the house in 2001.

(By the way, the item in question is an umbrella stroller, which is smaller, lighter and much less bulk than a regular stroller and could be used for quick trips or travel).

When I moved to DC in my single days I lived in a fantastic apartment in the heart of Dupont Circle. It did not have air conditioning. Eventually my roommates bought their own, but I just didn't see the need. I wasn't there enough, work was AC, and it just wasn't that bad. A friend felt sorry for me, and when he moved, he gave me his free of charge. I admit I used it on occasion, and I very much appreciated it, but I never would have bought it on my own.

We often think "We can't live without ..." but the fact is we don't know what we are capable of doing until we try. I am grateful my parents taught me how to "try." I never wanted for anything I really needed, but there were plenty of things I "wanted" that at the time I thought I "needed" (pink tretorns and call waiting come to mind), but the reality is...well, I didn't.