My grandfathers were very different from each other. My father’s father believed in saving your pennies and waiting to buy something you really wanted. My mother’s father, on the other hand would tell me to spend it all – no matter how little or how much I had. Just spend it! It was almost like he thought there was an endless supply of money. I took after my father’s dad in many ways. When I would get birthday money, I would save it up and wait for something that I REALLY wanted.
Growing up, because my birthday was at the beginning of July, I usually had a red, white, and blue themed party. It was always annoying. Friends would be on summer vacation and we didn’t have a pool so there wasn’t an easy way to stay cool, and after a while, the red white and blue decorations felt, well, not very birthday-like. Why couldn’t I go to Bob Baker’s Marionette Show? The room where they celebrated was always so bright and beautiful. Lots of pink! That would never happen. My mother was afraid of dolls or anything remotely doll-like. Also, money always seemed tight and big birthdays just never happened for me.
A girl I’ll call J.P. (to protect the guilty) got to have her birthdays there every year. It seemed like she got everything. She lived in a big beautiful house, had lots of stuff and didn’t have a sibling to share with or fight with. She was, however, a bully. She would threaten to beat me up and steal my crayons and scare me. I would always look over my shoulder when I would walk home, for fear of her getting me!
In second grade, our teacher, Mrs. Minnix would do an auction at the end of every month. Students would earn “money” to spend at the auction. I really wanted this autograph doll of a tomato. The price went too high for me and J.P. (of course) got the doll. In total despair, I bid on and won a huge bag of animal cookies (I didn’t even like those cookies). The very next item was another autograph doll – this time a bell pepper. I couldn’t believe it! I wasted all my money on those cookies! It was the best lesson I learned in second grade. It continues to be a lesson that I remember and remind my kids of.
Save for something you REALLY want. That’s not to say that I haven’t spent recklessly since those animal cookies – I have. But never without thinking it through.
Did you learn something from a teacher that has stayed with you? Tell me in the comments below!
Sarah
Sarah is a native Los Angelino with the heart of a Chicagoan. She loves A Cappella music, cooking, and swing dancing. When she’s not helping raise money for schools, sports teams and clubs, she is hanging out with and loving life with her husband and girls. For more information about what she does professionally, check out www.amomsguidetoschoolfundraising.com