Christmas

I recently read an article…patents complaining because some parents are able to give their children more for Christmas then others…and how that they have had to explain to kids why Santa gives their friends IPads, and they get stuffed animals.

I really can’t explain my outrage….it just really infuriated me.

I grew up in the 80’s. I went to a private school. I lived in a nice house. My father worked in a factory seven days a week so that we could live in our nice house and go to our private school. I had friends who were wealthy and friends who were like me. I learned early that they got all the Cabbage Patch Kids in the world and I saved up for a whole summer to buy just one. I learned that they got jewelry and whatever else and I got my Barbie McDonalds….and you know what??? I was ok with that.

I as an adult see the money that people spend on Christmas for their kids….and I can’t believe it…but guess what? I don’t pay their bills…so what they need to do with their money is not my problem.

Recently, I had this discussion with my son. He goes to a very prominent university where kids his age drive Mercedes and Lexus and brand new Jeeps. He drives a Kia…and doesn’t have a Gucci belt or a Gucci bag. May I remind you all, I don’t either and probably (unless I find it in a thrift store for $3.99, won’t ever have one). He wondered why we always help so many people in our community, but rarely go on elaborate trips…may I say that we travel rather frequently….I have taken all of them to Hawaii, we have gone to Colorado a couple of times and recently NYC and spent a lot of time in Philadelphia. I am currently saving for us to go to Europe…our eldest has traveled quite a lot and we hope for our son to have the same experiences.

As I sat there and listened to him talk…I realized he was blinded by the glitz and sparkle of what others have. It happens at the age of 19….heck, it happens at the age of 44.

So here is the reply I gave to my son…

“Learn to live lean, learn to look in the mirror and like who your looking at. Be proud of who you are…it is not what you own, but your character that matters. Look at the world and go out and grab what you want by your own two hands.”

Until we teach our children that the world owes them nothing….we will have a nation of entitled young people that won’t work, because they feel they don’t need to. They won’t follow rules, because they don’t feel they should. They won’t show up for work, because they are tired and don’t care they can’t pay bills. They will be upset because others live in bigger houses, instead of realizing, if you want a bigger house…work for it. If you want to go to college or trade school, work to attain it. This world owes you nothing….go and work for what you want. Achieving this, is hard hard work…but your goal can be achieved.

I am tired of hiring employees who just want a paycheck and don’t want to work for it. They have no desire to learn more…no desire to be proactive….they just want me to throw a party because they actually came to work.

I am not alone…this is a huge problem that many employers are facing. This is not just a problem with our young people…this extends to many.

So…if your complaining that people are telling their kids that bigger toys come from Santa then what you can afford to buy your own children…then you just might want to re-evaluate some things….the first lesson you should realize is this: Life….is……NOT…..fair.

So…my son is learning this lesson…and in three years I’m looking forward to seeing him graduate…and if I did my job well…he will have learned to grab the world by his own two hard working hands…and get what he wants out of life….without the Gucci belt.

Have a great one peeps!!!