Tightwad

Terri recently tagged a bunch of folk with a nonmeme meme.  One of those "tell us 5 things about yourself nobody else knows".  I'm not into memes all that much. My life's way too boring and mundane to try to try and impress everyone with my brilliance and good looks.

But, one thing I will admit to is that I am a bit of a tightwad. Don't know where I got it from. My parents certainly did not hold back on us boys. We may not have lived in a mansion and dined on quail eggs and caviar, but we were comfortable. Nice big house in New Jersey (yes, Jersey), dad worked for one of the big oil companies in New York, one car (Pontiac Catalina Station Wagon), vacations were typically camping trips to Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine. My parents weren't rich but they took good care of us and we always had their love and support. My dad instilled in me a lot of values that I carry with me today. We may not have had the newest toys or gear, but we did well.

As I got married and started my own family, I tried to follow his lead. I wanted the best for my wife and kid, but always kept an eye on the bottom line. As my son grew older, I was challenged to satisfy his requests. Sure, I caved on the Nintendo and PlayStation, but I was not always willing to jump to the new technology as soon as it hit the stores. I may not have the latest whizz-bang technology, but what we have works. The landbarge (the youngest vehicle in the fleet) is over 11 years old, we still have analog TVs, two old DVD/VCRs, the digital camera is 6 years old, I still have my cassette tape deck, a turntable that still works, and my cell phones are two generations old. I guess I've been hesitant (or too cheap) to change, but I've been working on changing that. With the last tuition check cut, I am starting to see a few more pennies in the account. I finally ponied up for an HDTV last Christmas. I took the plunge on one of those high end Keurig coffee makers last month for our anniversary. Still those big ticket items gave me pause when I reached the check out line.

So, when it came down to my son's recent graduation, I was debating what to get him to show how proud we were of his accomplishments. Some people buy their kids a car or fund a trip to Europe as a reward for graduating. Some people (aka my brother) have the opinion that having his education paid for was gift enough. I am not quite of that mind. Still, I wanted something more than a simple card and set of Parker Pens or Samsonite Briefcase (inside joke).  So, with some trepidation to my financial muse, I wound up getting him this:  

You tell me.  Too much?  Not enough?  At this point, I did not balk at the price.  He is my only child/son.  He has a good head on his shoulders and a good bead on life.  What more could a dad (or mom) wish for?

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. 
And happy anniversary RC!