I learned early on that wanting something was far from the same as getting it. How did I learn this important lesson as a child? Well, it was by saying, “I want [fill in the blank]” to my mother. She had two possible responses.
When I was of tender years, she said:
Want in one hand and spit in the other and see which one gets full first.
When I reached an appropriate age, it changed to the pithier but equally pitiless:
People in hell want water.
Thus, I learned that, if you want something, you should either do something to get it yourself or do without it. Thus, I learned that there’s a difference between I want and I would like or It would be nice to have. I also found that Santa often brought me things I said I would like or that it would be nice to have. The more demanding I want got me nothing but a pithy aphorism.
My mom. Crushing entitlement, one child at a time.
This post is part of Linda G. Hills weekly blog hop, One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner or just like them, follow the link.
A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: Write about entitlement and, if you like, the crushing thereof.
MA
Ally Bean
March 11, 2020 at 7:09amThis is a great post. My mom was all about entitlement crushing, too. No wonder we’re the delightful adults that we are now!
Marian Allen
March 11, 2020 at 10:42amLOL! Exactly so!
Daniel Antion
March 11, 2020 at 7:20amWould that mothers today were still crushing entitlement.
Marian Allen
March 11, 2020 at 10:44amIt’s a delicate balance between fostering self-esteem and crushing entitlement. My mother erred on the side of crushing, but I can’t think it was entirely a bad thing. I’d rather struggle with self-doubt than run rough-shod over other people.
Roy A Ackerman, PhD, EA
March 11, 2020 at 9:06amNever heard either of those before…(BTW, I think those in hell would prefer AC…)
Marian Allen
March 11, 2020 at 10:45amExcept for those in the lowest circle of Dante’s hell, which was a frozen pool. They would be like, “A cold day in hell? What is this — the Ohio River Valley?”
Mitchell Allen
March 11, 2020 at 12:28pmMy Dad said that one to me, about the poor souls in Hell. For some reason, that imagery sobered me much more effectively than my Mother’s go-to phrase for guilting me in to eating something I DIDN’T want: “There are starving kids in ___.”
Thank goodness I wasn’t smart-alecky enough to tell her to send my food to “___”. LOL I’d a been knocked into next Wednesday’s One-liner!
I did your prompt some time ago, as it turns out. See the link.
Cheers,
Mitch
Marian Allen
March 13, 2020 at 10:35amOkay, that’s DANG funny!
Kirizar
March 13, 2020 at 7:21amI wouldn’t have thought that “wanting” something per se as a bad thing. But wanting things we can’t have (love/the body of a Swedish swimsuit model-but not in that creepy, stuffed-in-the-trunk-of-your-car way) bad kind of thing.
Also, I was weirdly reminded of a story I read about called “For the want of a nail.” Where the meaning of “want” expresses a lack or loss. It’s a word that has hidden meanings. It’s loaded—like a baked potato.
Marian Allen
March 13, 2020 at 10:46amThe bad part comes from stating my desire as a demand, Kiri. I love your metaphor. It’s very apt. Just like that potato, it takes something that’s not necessarily bad for you and loads it with negativity. Yeah, by the time I finish garnishing potatoes or oatmeal, they’re no longer healthy. 😀
joey
March 13, 2020 at 8:28pmAs you know, crushing entitlement is part of the job! LOL
My grandmother was big on those phrases. BIG!
Marian Allen
March 14, 2020 at 8:26amYour grandmother and my mother would have been besties. lol