Dear God, 20th March
Please can I change my prayer point a little? I want to be super-wealthy. And Yes, now!. Wait Dad, dont raise Your eyebrows yet….let me finish…..
Please can I change my prayer point a little?
I want to be super-wealthy. And Yes, now!.
Wait Dad, dont raise Your eyebrows yet….let me finish…..
So we went to this super party….. A friend was getting married and a group of “us” (including the convinced me) agreed to organize a surprise-bridal shower for her…
And guess what Dad…..?, the haughty event planner hired turned it into a weekend girls outing.
We were all lodged in this super boutique hotel, and had a full day of spa, facials and massages. All kinds of body magic the Japanese and Philippinos brains can think up.
I surrendered my body to their hands and by the time they were done, I was struggling with my face. It felt tight and my smile felt strangely good.
When the little masseuse asked me to get up, I ignored her…..go where?
Dad, it was heavenly….Thank you.
I enjoyed all the pampering and lively banters until we got to the hotel.
My squad of inner caucus, who were coming for the event too had more information and expectations than I did. One had insisted that we drive to the hotel in her brand new Ford explorer (Limited edition with emphasis) and that I dared not come with my humble Camry.
Aouch! Fine.
I didn’t take the hint well until we drove into the boutique hotel and I saw the kind of cars parked and were being parked.
Hmmn.
Dad, even the security man paused a bit to access our car before he decided to sandwich us between a G-wagon and a Range sports….all latest editions.
We were all meant to recieve the bride at 6pm and then have dinner. As I walked into the bridal reception arena, I felt dizzy with the dazzle. Our haughty planner out-matched herself. Every thing was white and silver and blinked, even us. No wonder we did the ficails 1st. I kept touching my face, it felt so soft and tight, I was so sure that if I laughed too much it will crack.
How could they organize such a virginian shower for a 50 year old bride?
But when the bride appeared, I was marveled. She did not look a day above 30. The make-up artist should win a Grammy, she artfully stole 20years away from her face. I secretly apologized for my earlier judgement……she looked very much a virgin bride to be…..
The reception was super and then we sat for dinner and that was when I started to struggle.
Somehow, the chief host was sitting beside me and was always in whispered conversations with the haughty planner. And that was when I picked up the amount they will charge for our a la cart multiple course meal.
They will serve squids and octopus and I kinda had a problem with that on my plate. The chief host asked me if I have tasted an octopus before and I confirmed that I had tasted it once at a corporate event in Croatia but I wasn’t sure I liked it that much…
And then she went…..”Oh, it quite expensive here but good, you should try this one…”
The menu was such that you could have a choice of “either – or”
But When I got to know the amount to be paid for the food, I lost my appetite.
My heart and my head went straight into their battle of wills.
My heart flashed a picture of the little boy we bought a bottle of water from in traffic on our way to the place and told me how far that amount will take him.
Again, It flashed the picture of a friend who called me up the day before to ask for assistance with her children’s school fees. They were taking exams and would not be allowed to if they didn’t pay up.
“You are eating those children’s school fees, my heart judged me.
“It’s not your party”, my head said.
“But you will pay, what would you rather pay for, the meal or the fees?” My heart inquired.
“There will always be problems in the world, you can’t solve them all, relax, enjoy” my head insisted.
“I agree, you can’t solve all the problems, but you can start by being reasonable. Enjoy your octopus” my heart replied.
Gosh!
I got out of the table, picked a glass of juice off a nearby waiter and went to the balcony. I needed to breathe in some fresh air. I surveyed my surroundings. I needed to do a self-talk to understand why I was struggling to enjoy this fabulous party.
And it hit me……I was struggling with the extravagance, and the extra touch of vanity. I had a heart-issue with it even though my head loved it.
The party was a tard too overdone. The bride and her team were making a statement to either “an Ex” or a rival but they overdid it.
The extra touch of showmanship was a bit too much for me. I would have been okay with a noisy rich-show, but this was loud…..screaming actually and it was just a shower. Remind me to skip the wedding.
How dare CNN call us a poor country? They should see this party. When we are big, we blink.
She told me how some girls came to the party with hired luxury cars. I was shocked.
To impress, people go to the extent of hiring luxury? So most of these latest swag rides they were using to intimate me were hired? And they dared me to bring my fully owned camry…..Limited edition?
Hmmn.
I quietly resolved to pay my friends’ children’s school fees. It was more worthy of my money than paying to eat an octopus.
The rest of the evening went well, as I quietly resolved to chose the things to pay attention to. I ignored the blinks.
So You see Lord, I want to be super rich, but I will not do the blinks. I will use it to make some good changes in other people’s life. I will be reasonable with it’s use.
This is my promise and the new prayer point.
So, Let’s go make some real wealth.
This is Your daughter, I am ready and I am checking in.