But as I thought about the word, that didn't make sense. Thrift, to me, meant using money carefully, or saving it, the opposite of spending. Which is why I looked up the definition and found: "a person who spends wastefully". Further explanation states: "One sense of thrift is careful management, especially of money. Spendthrift was coined late in the 16th Century to refer to someone who recklessly flouts such efforts."
When I looked for a cartoon or picture to illustrate a spendthrift, I found many. This is the one that intrigued me the most:
The Spendthrift & The Swallow
"A Spendthrift, who had wasted his fortune, and had nothing left but the clothes in which he stood, saw a Swallow one fine day in early spring. Thinking that summer had come, and that he could now do without his coat, he went and sold it for what it would fetch. A change, however, took place in the weather, and there came a sharp frost which killed the unfortunate Swallow. (Sounds like our spring this year.) When the Spendthrift saw its dead body he cried, 'Misserable bird! Thanks to you I am perishing of cold myself.' "
The moral to this story I have heard:
One Swallow does not make summer.
Upon further reflection of why the word was on my mind, I remembered watching a segment on CBS' Sunday Morning yesterday about people who had no room in their homes and garages because they were full of stuff; things purchased just because they were on sale or looked useful and turned out not to be as advertised. The examples shown bordered on hoarding. The clutter was so overwhelming, the owners had to have help decluttering.
I felt good because I had purged my closets for Lent. I feel good about my determination to no longer collect things or buy stuff just because it is on sale. Could I pare down even more? Certainly. But I know I'm no Spendthrift.
I've heard the saying about one swallow not making a summer, but didn't know where it came from!
ReplyDeleteMe, too. As stated, I don't remember ever hearing this particular fable.
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