Today's topic. Want versus need.  I hear this most from children.  I need a new toy, I need candy, I need etc. to infinity.  This is because they have learned early from the adults around them that needing something has a high priority.  It means more than I want, I would like or I wish for.  I have worked over the years at recognizing that I should delineate more clearly between my needs and wants.  For the children.  Almost everything as a greater impact if it is for the children.

To be clear there is nothing wrong with wanting something even something you don't really need.  I just am pointing out, there are many things that I need and want and so sometimes the lines can get slightly blurred.  It is so easy to get caught up in life and forgetting what is essential in the face of what is desired.

I need a car to get me to and from.  The hours I work preclude a bus since I have to be at work before the buses run in the morning and I take call, meaning I may be asked to go into work at a moments notice, sometimes late at night. So, I need a car.  I want a Jaguar.  I love them.  The body style, the jaguar hood ornament, the Jag experience, I want it all.  Even though they are expensive and it is said if you are getting a Jaguar you might as well buy two, one to drive and one for spare parts, I still love them.  I don't drive a Jaguar, I drive a Toyota.  It's a very nice Toyota, but it isn't a Jag and never will be.  I am living quite well with that knowing I am lucky to own a car at all.

There are things I think I need like a TV.  I would lose my mind without one.  Oh, I know there are people better than I am who don't own one but I would not do well.  I did live without one for a while when I was a kid. I even grew up without cable.  We were one of the only families in our neighborhood to not have cable.  Four stations, ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS.  That was it. It has only been since my adulthood that I have cable which is one more thing I think I need. So, I think I need a TV and I want a bigger one.  Oh, don't think me shallow, I don't need a huger than huge TV just bigger than the one I have now. Note that without thinking I put need versus want in the last sentence.  Sigh.  

There are things I want like fine china.  I love china and if I had money to buy I would have all the pretty china I wanted.  But, I don't have disposable income for sets of china I may never use.  So, it stays a want.  I know for sure I don't need set after set of fine china but what if I were hosting foreign dignitaries in my humble home (who knows, it could happen) then I would need fine china and could buy some for the occasion. So, yay, something to look forward to!

I have been guilty in the past of buying what I want instead of what I need.  I have many examples.  I am sure some are more significant than this one, but this one was a pivotal moment for me.  Because, it was a factor in beginning my desire to know the difference between need and want.  My sister and I were shopping (if you read my blog you may be aware I don't really like to shop) and I needed new work socks, all of mine were holey.  I call them church socks cause they are holey.  OK, so we are meandering and what do I find but an incense store with all kinds of lovely smells.  So, I spend my budget on incense instead of socks.  My sister pointed out my folly.  And it was an eye opener for me.  It wasn't like I spent the rent money on magic beans but it helped me begin to see things differently. And to start to define in my life my needs versus wants.

I am working with myself on a constant basis to ensure I know the difference between what I need and what I want.  I want and need to set a good example to the children in my life to help them recognize what they really need versus what they want.  This will help them as they travel through life in what I hope are not holey socks.