In case you didn’t already know it…we are amongst the “have-nots”.
That being said, we have plenty. We have a roof over our heads, we have food on the table, clothes on our backs.
What we don’t have a lot of is “extra” money. At the moment we only have one running vehicle because one broke down and we can’t afford to fix, much less replace it.
We don’t spoil our kids, they hear a lot of “No’s”. At Christmas we try to make up for a year of no’s with a decent amount of presents…definitely not a LOT. Even this year when I have started buying presents back in JUNE in preparation of not having the dreaded empty bank account at the end of the year – and was rewarded with the unusual capability to buy gifts for each other for a change.
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Amidst all the holiday preparations I’ve been shocked by the sudden sense of entitlement about it all.
Riley’s can almost all be explained away by her behavioral issues and the influx of propaganda from school. She is filled with anxious anticipation and impatience. The “now now now” wears down my patience and my nerves.
Brandon is the one that shocks me most. In the past weeks his grades have slipped and he’s completely ignored homework. He flipped out when we didn’t fix his computer (an old, run down, way out of date computer) IMMEDIATELY. Everything he did had to be done NOW. Even now with his cast off and a brace on he excuses his way out of everything. If he’s been asked to do anything, it’s not been done.
Angel is, as always, the most easy going. She is excited for the holidays, for the presents, but is mostly tolerable.
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It leaves us wondering if we did something wrong. By making Christmas a big deal, even when we have little, did we give them the sense of entitlement? Did we make it too commercial? Is there something we can do to correct it?
I swear, ’tis the season for snottiness and crankiness. Alexis has finally cleared out of her Supreme Bossy Brat mode, but it’ll be back next week. :-/