Today found me the forced observer of my own dark side. Over lunch, I went to the mall with my lovely wife, and in doing so found myself in a store full of objects that I have long coveted. What's worse, we were actually there for the purpose of consideration and potentially purchasing said object. We looked. We played. We considered. And then my wife uttered words that struck terror into my heart.
"Do you think we should sleep on it?"
Now, internally I didn't have a dialog so much as a panicked emergency response. Klaxons were going off. People were rushing to attack positions. Red shirts fell dead as the hull was breached. It was ugly. Nonetheless, the part of my brain that has somewhat evolved since childhood took control and responded in the affirmative, as I knew deep down that this was the correct response.
So far so good, right? We're taking the time to think this over before committing to a reasonably large purchase, like responsible adults should. So then why is it that the entire walk to the car, the entire drive back to work, and pretty much the entire afternoon has seen me pouting like a six year old? No, I'm not even going to give myself that much credit. The Princess would, without a doubt, currently be handling this better than I am.
I'm reacting like the kid who goes to the toy store, plays with a bunch of stuff, and then is told that we're not buying anything right now. Sure, part of me knew that going in. Nonetheless, the eternal promise of "maybe Santa will get you one" eventually falls through, because as an adult I know the realities of the situation. If you take the time to think these things through, the end result is almost always the same. No matter how shiny it is, no matter how much you think you deserve it, there's always something more important. It's part of being a responsible adult. The part that sucks.
Now of course, there is a chance that we will go back and make the purchase. I'm just surprised at myself and how immature I became in the face of this. I mean, at some point I won't be like this, right? The allure of gadgetry and new, shiny toys eventually wears off and is replaced with a more mature, realistic view of the world where I can look around with complete satisfaction, no longer pining for some trinket to fill the void, right?
Please, just lie to me.
"Do you think we should sleep on it?"
Now, internally I didn't have a dialog so much as a panicked emergency response. Klaxons were going off. People were rushing to attack positions. Red shirts fell dead as the hull was breached. It was ugly. Nonetheless, the part of my brain that has somewhat evolved since childhood took control and responded in the affirmative, as I knew deep down that this was the correct response.
So far so good, right? We're taking the time to think this over before committing to a reasonably large purchase, like responsible adults should. So then why is it that the entire walk to the car, the entire drive back to work, and pretty much the entire afternoon has seen me pouting like a six year old? No, I'm not even going to give myself that much credit. The Princess would, without a doubt, currently be handling this better than I am.
I'm reacting like the kid who goes to the toy store, plays with a bunch of stuff, and then is told that we're not buying anything right now. Sure, part of me knew that going in. Nonetheless, the eternal promise of "maybe Santa will get you one" eventually falls through, because as an adult I know the realities of the situation. If you take the time to think these things through, the end result is almost always the same. No matter how shiny it is, no matter how much you think you deserve it, there's always something more important. It's part of being a responsible adult. The part that sucks.
Now of course, there is a chance that we will go back and make the purchase. I'm just surprised at myself and how immature I became in the face of this. I mean, at some point I won't be like this, right? The allure of gadgetry and new, shiny toys eventually wears off and is replaced with a more mature, realistic view of the world where I can look around with complete satisfaction, no longer pining for some trinket to fill the void, right?
Please, just lie to me.
1 comment:
I was considering the iPhone. The thing is, what I really wanted was wi-fi access (sans the monthly charge), and it turns out that can do that on a PSP.
In other news - dude, I totally bought a PSP today!
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