the marshmallow incident....

By the Sea 5x7 watercolor

My kids were roasting marshmallows for an after dinner treat the other night and offered me some. I told them I don't like marshmallows, I never have.

It reminded me of an incident from my childhood. I was probably 8 years old or so and I got a huge sliver in my foot from trying to climb a wooden fence barefoot. My mom was trying to get me to hold still so she could remove the sliver when she tried to bribe me with marshmallows. "If you'll hold still so I can get the sliver out I'll give you some marshmallows" I didn't like marshmallows, but my brothers did! So the idea of tormenting my brothers with "I get marshmallows and you don't nananana naaanah" became my motivation for holding still. Of course I never said anything about that, If my mom knew it would never work. My mother removed the sliver and then proceeded to hand out marshmallows to me and my brothers saying it was a celebration of my bravery. Boy was I mad! My brothers did not have to have a sliver removed and they still got marshmallows! how unfair! My mom said she never said my brothers would not get marshmallows I should be happy that everyone was benefiting instead of just me.

I was really really mad, but over the years as I thought about it, mom was right. My desire to make my brothers unhappy was ultimately what backfired and made me unhappy. If I had wanted to make those around me happy instead of upset then the whole incident would have turned out different for me.

Again it all comes down to attitude.