My mother could never wait for anything. If she had something nice (usually to eat) then it had to be eaten straight away. Maybe it was a result of being a child during WW2, when one of the families she was evacuated to took in lots of children to get their ration cards. When my grandmother went to visit she was appalled to see how skinny my mother was and took her back to the London suburbs immediately. 

Did I pick up on this? Always impatient. I have never understood people who can eat one square of chocolate and put the rest away for another time.

Nothing will match the self control of D. One year I got him a Christmas present which was, physically, rather large. The only place to store it was in his office where he worked all day. What is more, it just had a large cardboard box over it, not even properly wrapped up. And he didn’t even take the teensiest peek. I knew what was in the box and still wanted to check it out. D was happy to wait several weeks for the Christmas Day great unveiling.

Over the years I have learned some self restraint. It is my birthday soon. This year, as for the past forty or so years, in the preceding week postie delivers what are clearly half a dozen birthday cards from my oldest and dearest friends. I am now happy to put them in a pile and will open them on the special morning. I still check the handwriting: that one’s from J, Ooh good that’s from T…

Whereas a few years ago I would struggle to not open them, I can now enjoy the anticipation. The truth is that the card doesn’t matter, it’s knowing that those I love are thinking of me and have made an effort to send a card to arrive in time.

Are you a gobble it all up now or a spread it out over a long period person?

Susannah

A Moodscope member