When I was little and my dad was an elisted man with five kids, we were so poor, we barely made it. We did not go out to dinner and mom did our hair and made our clothes. When dad became an officer and moved up, things changed. But when I was little, I did not know we were poor and in fact I thought we were rich because mom used to send us all to school with a can of food for the Nuns’ Catholic food pantries which served the poor people around the country.
My personality was shaped around poverty which means materialism was pretty much absent from my sreams and desires. I don’t dream of things I want and I am the butt of jokes at the house because I never know what I want for my birthday that is not something practical like hair ties. I get what I need and I am not hankering for more.
Because of this upbringing, the other side of life is what is important to me. What do I want from my sons? For them to be honorable and good sons, husbands and fathers. I want them to love and to be healthy and happy. I want them to be close to Jesus and spend time reading about Him and praying with Him.
My husband overheard me tell a friend one time that when I was little a cousin had a convertable mustang that was really fast and fun to ride in. So that year I got a convertable GT mustang for my birthday. It was the strangest feeling - being disgusted by the waste of money and excited by the beauty of the machine at the same time. It is fast and fun. And a waste of money. :)
I feel for people who only know and value materialism. This economic time we are going through is horrible for them and many have comitted suicide. Others, however, have learned there is more to life than stuff.
You are a rare and exquisit jewel in America these days.