human nature

I once heard someone say:

"We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."

To me, this is the truest statement I've ever come across. It got me thinking. Why do we want nice things? Why do (most) girls want big diamond rings? I think the fact that girls automatically show their rings once they announce their engagement is interesting. Why do men want nice cars? Do you think they'd be happy driving around in a Ferrari or BMW without ever showing it to their friends? And don't we get more satisfaction in showing these things to people who aren't really friends?

I'm not saying all of us do this. I actually don't consider myself part of the group above... well, at least not a hard core practitioner. I have proof.

I don't have a diamond engagement ring. I had a very small one before, and the diamond fell off! My husband and I got married at a very young age. We were both still in school, working part time and we bought rings that fell in our budget at the time, and they cost about $700 for the set, so you can imagine how big the diamond was (if it was a real diamond) and we still wear the same rings to this day. My husband always asks if I want to "upgrade" my rings, but I always decline. I love my "poor man" wedding ring. It reminds me of the days when we were young and naive and in love and all we wanted was to get married... damn what the rings looked like.

I'm not saying I'm an angel. I did secretly enjoy seeing my fellow soccer mommy friends squirm with jealousy when I showed them my new car. (A Ferrari it ain't, but you gotta love that DVD player that keeps the kids entertained for a few hours!)