A lesson or two

Taglish muna ako :)

Yesterday, we went grocery shopping. Wala na kasi fruits si EJ. He's been eating ice cream and chocolate chips the previous day. As much as I don't want to deprive him of sweets, of course I also don't want him to feast on sweets. Baka mabulok lahat yung anim nyang ipin..hehehe.

Anyway, I just rediscovered again this grocery store which has lots of fresh fruits and veggies. I used to go there when I was preggy. We used to live near the store. But we have moved apartments twice already so I have forgotten about this store.

Anyway, after buying the essentials we went around Male first. I wanted to stay at the park so EJ can play for a while before we head to Sala Thai (a new Thai resto which has become our favorite albeit a lil expensive) But I forgot that it was a Friday and the park was already swamped with Bangladeshi and Indians. So instead we went to an office store. While waiting for hubby to pay nakita ko yung bagong COO ng kumpanya ng asawa ko na pumasok sa tindahan. So syempre binati ko sya. Kasama nyang pumasok yung panganay nila. Yung asawa nya tsaka yung isang baby naman nila nasa likuran nya. It seems may party silang pupuntahan and they were there to buy a gift for the celebrant. So habang naghahanap sila ng mabibili, yung panganay nya may nakitang pink na pen. Sabi nya sa daddy nya "money please?" Ang akala ng daddy nya nakapili na ng gift yung anak nya. Eh, yung bibilhin pala ng bata ay para sa sarili nya. So sabi ng daddy nya: "how much is it?" Sabi naman ng cashier "18rufiyaa ($1.25)". I thought bibilhin na nila kase mura lang naman eh. Aba! sabi ng daddy nya "put it back. It's not in our budget and we're supposed to buy for the birthday celebrant." Sabi naman ng anak nya "But I like it, dad!". "I know, but we're not here to buy for you. Now put it back", sagot naman ng tatay. I was looking at them with interest. Gusto ko kasi malaman ano ending. Kung iiyak ba yung bata or kung bibilhin nalang ng tatay kasi gusto naman ng anak nya at mura lang naman. Nagulat ako at sabi ng bata "okay, i will dad". I was pleasantly surprised. Ang bait ng bata at hindi nag tantrums. She really seemed to like the pen but realizing that she's not going to get it, she just put it back.

I've learned a lesson or two here. If it was me, I would have bought the pen already. Mura lang kasi tsaka gusto naman ng anak ko (and useful too). Na realize ko, andami ko pang dapat matutunan when it comes to disciplining a child. Right now, medyo lenient ako. I should learn from what I saw. Imagine, ang tatay nya COO tapos simpleng pen ayaw bilhin?! The child was being taught two things: the value of money and how to prioritize. At ang galing kasi yung bata walang angal sumunod agad sa tatay nya.

Naisip ko din, kahit at this stage in my life, minsan nakakalimutan ko ang mga lesson na yun. Minsan kasi kung ano gusto ko, bibilhin ko agad. Kahit hindi naman importante. Pero hindi naman palagi. Most of the time I still able to stop myself from spending money on useless things. It's easy to spend the money. Sabi nga, ang bilis ubusin ng pera. Pero ang hirap kitain ng pera. Naalala ko tuloy yung sabi ng dati kong boss. Live within your means, if possible live below your means so you have something when the rainy season comes. Other people or most people live beyond their means. I have a tendency to be like this. My father is like this too. He lives like a king, if he has money. He doesn't like to save. Good thing, my mom is the opposite. She constantly saves, saves and saves money. I am so lucky to have a mother who teaches me the value of money.