<p>And one more thing…</p>
<p>Each of us RESPONDS to our upbringing differently.</p>
<p>My dh was raised in a rather poor family with NO extras (though the parents did manage to provide for THEMSELVES quite well, but for the kids, NO braces, NO college help, 5 bucks on each birthday…).</p>
<p>There were six kids in HIS family too. And some of them are extremely tight with money. They think because they did without, their children can too. My husband had the opposite reaction. He WANTED his children to have everything HE didn’t, and he works astoundingly hard to give them those things which he considers essentials…braces, college, even birthday parties (he NEVER had one, and the one time in third grade that he decided he really WANTED one and thus took the initiative to invite some kids over–they had three acres–his mother made him promptly call everyone up and UNinvite them <em>sigh</em>). </p>
<p>Okay, I’m rambling, but my point is that even within the same exact context, two people can have vastly different reactions.</p>
<p>~berurah</p>