Dearest Ruby B.,
Good afternoon, sweetie. Granny and Grandpa Jud are at our time-share
villa in Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico.
We had hoped you and your parents would be joining us this year, but
because of the current doubtful and frustrating economy and the fact that you
need to learn to sleep through the night, we will have to wait until next year
to have you join us in Cabo.
We will be here for the next seven weeks and it is a
fabulous place with mid-winter weather in the 80’s during the day and lots of
sunshine. We purchased fractional
ownership of this Mexican villa in 2006 and have enjoyed it most winters since
then. It was an extravagant purchase
for us. We do not normally spend this
kind of money on ourselves; however, we justified it by thinking of all the friends
and family members we could invite down for visits to share this marvelous and
unique experience with us. Over the
years, we have done just that.
Truth be known, with the exception of a couple of
expensive cruises since we sold our business and retired, this is one of the
few non-frugal expenditures we have undertaken in the last seven years. No, actually, it is one of the few we have undertaken in our
lives.
I think your mom and your Aunt Brandi would tell
you, there was never anything they ever wanted for in their lives that your
Granny and I did not provide for them as they grew up. With the exception of Barbie Dolls (ask your
mom) and the year we searched but could not find one last Cabbage Patch doll on
the market at Christmas time, I do not believe they can identify one thing we
withheld or did not provide for them in their formative years. I believe we provided for their every need
and most of their wants. It was our
privilege to do so…we wanted to do so. But still we taught and promoted
frugality. Which kind of brings me to my
next pearl.
Thirty-Fourth Pearl: "Be
Frugal With Yourself and Extravagant With Everyone Else"
When your mom was a young girl, your Granny taught
her how to use discount coupons at the grocery store. She taught her how to clip them out of the
magazines, newspapers and flyers. She
taught her how to put them into a coupon box or folder and take it to the
store. She taught her how to look for
the bargain products and sort through the box to find the $ .25 and the $ .50
and even the extremely rare $ 1.00 coupons to get discounts. The double and triple coupon days were like
special holidays for your mom and Granny to go shopping.
Your mom and Granny would go to the Salvation Army
and Goodwill stores in downtown Toledo to find bargain clothes on the shelves
and on the hangers that were inexpensive sartorial treasures.
Your Granny taught your mom and Aunt Brandi the
value of a dollar and how being frugal with your money was not only a virtue
but a blessing. Both of them learned
their lessons well. As they became
adults, they took those lessons to heart and shunned the trappings of their
generation, Generation X, which prized wealth, possessions and instant
gratification beyond all else.. Even
when your mom lived in the capital of Generation X in Southern California and
was a part of the Hollywood scene, she still shopped at second hand stores,
looking for the next great bargain. She
never looked better.
Your mom cares for you more than you will ever
know. She and your dad will spare no
expense to see that you have everything you need to succeed in life. They will be extravagant with you and with
their friends, as they always have, to make certain each has what they need and
most of what they want, while being frugal with themselves. You would be wise to learn that lesson well.
I love you, sweet Ruby,
Grandpa Jud
