Being spoiled taught me a few of things....

    Well, it's been a while since I posted anything on this thing, so I figure it's about time to do so. I've been thinking a lot about home lately, and that means that I've been thinking a lot about my parents. Anybody who knows me, knows that I'm a big Momma's boy, and that I'm really close to my parents in general anyway.
     That being said, anyone that has known me for a while, knows that I was a very spoiled kid growing up. I can't really remember a time that I didn't get what I wanted whenever I asked for it. I know that Sandra and Marcus didn't have it as good as I did, but I know that my parents gave them everything they could at the time. My benefit was that when I was growing up, my father was making more money then, which led to me having just about every toy that was available.
     I remember having every Transformer that came out when they were first available. I had them all...Optimus Prime, Megatron (which, from a distance, looked like a real gun), Starstreak, Jazz, I even had Jetfire, which was a big deal then for a kid. Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled, needless to say. I had a miniature Pac-Man game that looked like this one.... I don't remember anyone ever having this!

     Being spoiled got me everything from Transformers to the Atari 2600 to even cars. There was nothing that I felt that I could be without. I was so spoiled that I would even make my sister-in-law take the crunch berries out of my Cap'n Crunch cereal!! And...not only that, it had to be served on my E.T. tray. That's kind of embarrassing, but it's so true.

     I guess that being spoiled also meant that I could manipulate people into getting the stuff that I wanted, whenever I wanted it. I was really good at it, and I probably could have fell into doing drugs and stuff like that, but I never had the urge to really do anything like that. I just got what I wanted and I would try anything to get it. But, because of this want of everything that consumed, it led me to be very much in debt at a young age. The more I wanted, the more I found a way to get it. There was always a way. I'm very fortunate that I don't have that mentality anymore, and even though my debt is not totally gone, I'm in a better place than I was 6 years ago.

     The biggest thing that I learned from being spoiled is that it taught me how to love. I mean, think about it, my parents would have never given me all of the cash, toys and anything else if they didn't love me fiercely. Now that I'm older and I look back, it's really easy for me to see. Maybe it's because I'm the youngest child by nine years. I wasn't even supposed to be here, really. But my mother happened to get pregnant, and as a result, I got everything I could ever ask for. I'm not talking about physically, but I'm talking emotionally. Without their love, I wouldn't even be close to the person I am now. I find myself looking at the good in everyone, and most of the time it overshadows the bad in them. I guess it's because I believe that everyone can be good in some way or the other. I've love every single one of my family members more than they could ever know. I can't express it in words or even physically enough. I can remember when I moved from Seguin to Tulsa when I was 17. My parents and I had a great conversation on why I needed to go, and it was me initiating the conversation. My parents didn't want me to go, but because they loved me so much, they let me go live with my brother and my three nieces. (That's another story for another time) Who would let their kids go like that without loving their child?

     Being spoiled has made me love my wife more than just about anything else but God. I would never be this way without being spoiled. I hope I can spoil my children one day, not with toys, but with the love that I grew up with....