The Value of Things
As much as I hate to admit it, I'm far more materialistic than I would like to be. I'll take some solice in the old adage that admitting you have a problem is the first step to overcoming it.
A couple of days ago my daughter lost her cell phone. We had an old beat up chaise lounge in the living room and she was sure that the phone had fallen through the bottom of the chair and was stuck in the dust cover on the bottom. After tearing the dust cover off I soon realized that the phone had fallen between the cushion and the frame into a big empty pocket that was in the arm of the chair.
I have to admit that I was a little upset at first. I was at a crossroads. I pay for the cell phone and it would be expensive to replace and I bought the chair which was also relatively expensive. For some reason the more I thought about it the more ridiculous my anger over the situation seemed. Nobody was in any danger of dying or even being hurt here. The worst case scenario was that I was going to lose a thing that could easily be replaced.
Then I had a great idea. I put my arm around my daughter and said, "Wanna have some fun?" I handed her a hammer and said, "Go get your phone."
I'm not sure that I was sending the right message to my kid but as a parent, you can never be sure. Considering how difficult she found it to hit the chair with the hammer, I'm pretty sure she's not going to get into the habit of intentional furniture destruction. I realize that at her age, my daughter doesn't think about things the same way I do and she'll probably look back on that say and think, "Yup that's the point where he completely lost it."
This was really a lesson for me. I've been taken in by consumerism crap and I've actually started to put a value on things to a point where the thought of losing things can upset me. What's the point in worrying about something so trivial? I have my health and people who love me. What more do I need? Everything else is just a bonus and in the end doesn't really contribute to my happiness.
In the end, my daughter found her phone and we made some space in the living room. During the destruction phase we discovered that the frame of the chaise was broken and knowing what I know now... being re-married and living in a new house, the chaise would not have made the trip to the new house. I'd like to say that I taught my daughter not to put too much value on material things but I may have taught her that her cell phone is THE most important thing. Sometimes in parenting you just can't win.
A couple of days ago my daughter lost her cell phone. We had an old beat up chaise lounge in the living room and she was sure that the phone had fallen through the bottom of the chair and was stuck in the dust cover on the bottom. After tearing the dust cover off I soon realized that the phone had fallen between the cushion and the frame into a big empty pocket that was in the arm of the chair.
I have to admit that I was a little upset at first. I was at a crossroads. I pay for the cell phone and it would be expensive to replace and I bought the chair which was also relatively expensive. For some reason the more I thought about it the more ridiculous my anger over the situation seemed. Nobody was in any danger of dying or even being hurt here. The worst case scenario was that I was going to lose a thing that could easily be replaced.
Then I had a great idea. I put my arm around my daughter and said, "Wanna have some fun?" I handed her a hammer and said, "Go get your phone."
I'm not sure that I was sending the right message to my kid but as a parent, you can never be sure. Considering how difficult she found it to hit the chair with the hammer, I'm pretty sure she's not going to get into the habit of intentional furniture destruction. I realize that at her age, my daughter doesn't think about things the same way I do and she'll probably look back on that say and think, "Yup that's the point where he completely lost it."
This was really a lesson for me. I've been taken in by consumerism crap and I've actually started to put a value on things to a point where the thought of losing things can upset me. What's the point in worrying about something so trivial? I have my health and people who love me. What more do I need? Everything else is just a bonus and in the end doesn't really contribute to my happiness.
In the end, my daughter found her phone and we made some space in the living room. During the destruction phase we discovered that the frame of the chaise was broken and knowing what I know now... being re-married and living in a new house, the chaise would not have made the trip to the new house. I'd like to say that I taught my daughter not to put too much value on material things but I may have taught her that her cell phone is THE most important thing. Sometimes in parenting you just can't win.
It's really hard to let go of "things." I can relate.
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