Living Like Laura, #2

As Halle and I were reading about Laura and her family tonight, an experience she had brought up a reocurring gripe that I have. Laura and her Ma and sisters decided to make a pie to surprise their Pa with when he came back from hunting. He arrived late and was discouraged because there was nothing to hunt, but he was so thrilled with the pie that he and the rest of the family forgot all about the lack of meat. They were so excited about a PIE!

I can't even imagine my family noticing a pie. Instead I would receive comments like, "I don't like that kind of pie." "Is there whipped cream or ice cream? I can't eat pie without it." "Will this pie make me look fat?" Okay, maybe they would be surprised because I rarely make pie, but it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

I don't think that my family is greedy, ungrateful, or unusual in their comments. It is more that there is a sense of entitlement in society that causes many to assume that of course they will get something wonderful. My children receive so many extrinsic rewards at school, church, the doctor's office, the dentists office, the bank, music lessons, etc. that it takes a whole lot to thrill them at this point. I have tried very hard to avoid giving them rewards at home so they can learn the inner satisfaction of doing something (okay, except for potty training), but I feel sabotaged by almost everything else. I even had a daughter that got a reward in her 3rd grade class if she had to go to the bathroom, but she held it until recess. How did all of this come about and why?

I know that when I was a child, rewards were rare and so they really meant something! I wish that I could help my children see this. I wish that they would be excited by something as simple as a pie. Lesson #2, learn to be happy, excited, and appreciative of simple things.