Quote 1:

“For the rest of the day she kept looking over at me, touching me, brushing back my hair. I saw that the time was right to make a play for souvenirs. I knew she had no money for them, and I had tried not to ask, but now that her guard was down I couldn’t help myself. When we pulled out Grand Junction I owed a beaded Indian belt, beaded moccasins, and a bronzed horse with a removable, tooled-leather saddle.” (4)

Reading this quote, I thought of the way I sometimes take advantage of the vulnerability and affection of my family to receive things I want. I cannot tell if luring others into doing what I want and buying things for me comes naturally, or if I simply fall for the appealing desire is too inviting. In the book This Boy’s Life, main character Jack recognizes his mother’s doting sensitivity to him, and though he knows spending money on such unnecessary trivial things is unreasonable in their position, he asks prods from his wants anyway. It is a similar case with my mother, only her weakness is a little bit of compassion and a shopping habit. I realize she has got Kohls card payment burning holes through her pockets and that by having her buy things for me, I am fueling the problem, yet this reason fails to come to me surrounded by the opportunity of high-stocked shelves and tempting buys. So, like Jack, I often give in to the guiltless pleasures of tossing in a 50 off shirt or pair of shoes.