Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: GREED (03/08/18)
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TITLE: Greed Tester | Previous Challenge Entry
By Rebecca Lunn
03/15/18 -
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“Oh that is not a good idea. You’re teaching your children to be greedy.”
“Oh, but it’s a wonderful idea. I’m teaching my children to be good money managers,” I retorted. Mrs. Wong and I happened to meet each other on the bus. We found a seat together and sat down for the twenty-minute journey. The gray skies outside did not dampen our intense discussion.
Lowering her voice, she confided in me, “My son is so lazy. He won’t help around the house. I have to do everything.” She sighed and shook her head in annoyance. “Do you have any good advice for me?”
“Well,” I bragged modestly, “my two sons set the table for dinner, do the dishes afterward, and take out the trash. My older son even does the ironing. I don’t have to ask them twice. I just remind them once and they get it done.”
Mrs. Wong stared at me in complete disbelief. “How do you do that? Do tell.”
“First, I decide how much pocket money I want to give them each Saturday. Instead of handing it into their ungrateful little hands, I make a chart of different chores for each of them so they can earn their pocket money. They’re happy and I get cheap labor,” I whispered smugly into her ear and waited for her to laud what a resourceful mother I was.
Wagging a finger, Mrs. Wong chided me. “Why should a kid get money for making his bed? If he sleeps in it, then he should straighten it.”
“So does your son straighten his bed every morning like he should?” Looking out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mrs. Wong drop her head and look away. Her silence was my answer.
We buzzed the driver and stood up for our stop. As we politely smiled our goodbyes, I could tell my friend did not want a greedy son on top of a lazy one.
A gust of cold drizzle blew across my face. I opened my bright blue umbrella and the blustery squabbling continued pitter-pattering inside my head.
“There is no possible way to have greed-free kids. Giving them money will make them worse.”
“Was I being a greedy mother for buying cheap labor from my boys?”
“Pocket money should be earned. That’s how teens learn responsible living.”
“Judas sold Jesus for money.”
“The widow gave away her last two pennies.”
“Young people should be encouraged to give to charities with from their savings.”
Finally, I squelched my brain-storming. “I can test the method for one year to see whether my sons will be more greedy after that time. If I don’t try, I will never know. I can always change my mind.” I closed the umbrella as I reached the bronze metal gate. Before opening the front door, I turned to savor a deep breath of nippy air and relished a last squint at the silver that lined the leadened clouds.
I smiled as I entered the last stretch of that first trial-year. Oh, if Mrs Wong could see my boys now, I thought. They’ve gotten richer, not greedier. They’ve become more diligent and less whiny. Every Saturday, my children would bounce out of bed to watch me count out their pocket money instead of burrowing under a blanket the entire morning and staring at TV the rest of the day. I let them do their own math: 10% for church offering, 10% for charity, 10% for buying gifts for friends (as the need arose), 20% was for saving, and the rest they could spend. After dividing up the money into five designated white office envelopes, they would walk to the store with their friends chattering excitedly about what they wished to buy.
That first year continued into a second, then a third. After five years, my sons got their own paying jobs. During those growing-up years, it became apparent that one teen was a Saver and the other a Spender, but neither became greedier nor lazier.
Maybe I turned out to be the greedy mother after all. Perhaps in my longing to see my sons prosper in life, I indulged in the delight of training them to master their finances and to be generous. I cannot deny the swell of pride in seeing them tidy their rooms, shop for groceries, do the laundry, and cook meals. Now does that make me a lazy mother to boot?
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Blessings,
I enjoyed this.
Blessings~