Motivational Monday #22 - Eat Your Vegetables!!!

Tonight my son and I had an age old argument..."But I don't want to eat my vegetables, I don't like them!"  And I replied with the age old mommy response, "You don't get anything else until you eat them..."

As I was cleaning up after dinner I thought about why it is I told my child to eat what he didn't want.  Other than I am gunning for meanest mommy of the year award, what was I trying to teach him?  After a little thought on the subject I decided the important lesson in the vegetables was to use what you have before wanting/needing/acquiring more.

The old phrase, "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without," really is a disappearing concept.  In our world of newer, better, faster, we often dispose of what we have to move on to the next thing before we have used the last thing.  Always wanting what we don't have is a dangerous row to hoe.

So while I may have told my child to eat his delicious vegetables, what I really meant was, use what you have before you ask for more. 

Another phrase comes to mind here, "waste not, want not."  Gee, you would think our grandmas sat around coming up with sage advice or something.