When I was a wee girl, growing up in Scotland with my family of nine, We did not have much money, and my mum would create all sorts of interesting combinations, ( she would throw whatever was going bad in the fridge right into that pot!), and that would be our "tea" (dinner). I was probably the pickiest of her children, and I would not eat anything with onions, meat, sweetcorn, cornflakes, mushrooms, curry, any vegetables, etc etc..... I would find different ways of trying to dispose of my meal without my mum knowing. My most creative idea was to shove as much food into my mouth as possable, and run into the bathroom and spit it out in the toilet!! (no I dont have an eating disorder). Another classic was.... I would mash up the offending "food" and put it under my plate (inbetween my placemat) and then I would carry the placemat and plate together into the kitchen sink! (yep that one was brilliant!)
As I grew into a teenager, I began to open my mind and mouth to most foods, I now love nearly everything that is available to the tastebuds! There is only one problem, I am a brand name snob! My mum used to shop in a place called "shoprite", It was known for its cheap prices, and their slogan was... "No frills, no fuss" (The idea was, that the packaging was very simple and cheap, so that they could keep the prices low!) My mum was hooked! She loaded up on the value items! The name was ..... "no frills" and our kitchen cupboards were riddled with this "brand". (oh the thought makes me shudder) no frills beans, bread, jam, no frills yoghurt, cheese etc. I walk into the bathroom to be greeted with ..."no frills" toothpaste, soap and shampoo, and dont even start me on the "no frills toilet paper!!!!" oh it was terrable!!!
I would spend my time trying to hide various "no frills" items. In the hope that my mum would go to "tescos" and buy some heinz and campbells etc. My mum doesnt work that way I'm afraid, and she continued to stock up on "no frills". Finally, when I was 18, we moved house. Conveniently our new house was located right next door to "Tescos", My mum began doing all her shopping there, and it was bye bye to "no frills" and hello to "tesco value". Tesco value was not as offensive as "no frills" but I still didnt understand why she couldnt just buy the "good stuff!"
I am now a mummy myself, and I now understand why she couldnt buy the "good stuff", when we are going round the shop, I usually choose the store brand, unless it just cant be compromised e.g toothpaste, shampoo etc.
The reason I have rambled on about my snobbery, is because yesterday I learned a valuable lesson. Mark and I had taken the boys to the cabin overnight, and we drove into showlow, to get some pizza. We ate all that we wanted, and asked for a box, to take the rest home. We stoped at circle K to get some milk, and we saw a man there, rummaging through the rubbish bin, We decided we should offer him our left over pizza. ( I was worried that he might be offended, but we thought we should ask him anyway) So Mark gave him our leftover pizza, and the man was so grateful, as we drove off, I looked at him through the window and saw him tucking into the pizza. It made me cry, and I felt so spoiled and lucky! I have always had warm food to eat, and have been surrounded by people who care about me. I was grateful for the opportunity to teach kyle and Brody about people who are less fortunate than us, and how we should love and help eachother. I want to try and be more frugal, so that I will have more to share with whoever needs it. I hope that I can be less snobby about the brand names, because there are people who literally dont have anything! I am so blessed!
