I remember the first time I heard them say something I thought was rude and egotistic. I now know the rather Ostentatious behavior was who they always were. One comment, in particular, struck me as odd after the years family offered support; both financial and around the home.
Helping when they decided to work and support themselves, offering free child care wheneven needed. Most people pitched in to feed the family, often times needing to clean the neglected home.
I was both shocked and disgusted when, after a promotion, they made a rude disparaging comment about a fellow employee. It was the put down, the I’m better than you, tone of the comment that was bothersome. I had hoped that their previous experiences would help them grow, that they would offer help to others struggling in the same way.
We don’t talk anymore; as soon as they married into a more lavish lifestyle, I was no longer needed. Dispatched from their life, in my head I imagined the comments of superiority being made about our family.
I didn’t mind the separation as the comments about their new and improved lifestyle, phrased as a putdown toward us, were tiresome. Sadly, if they took the time to open their mind, they’d see that those who helped them were happy that their life improved.
At some level, I realize their ostentatious behavior relates to their internal feelings of inferiority, I get that. Still, it doesn’t change the fact they choose to diminish the contribution others have made to lift them up. The ability to look down on the people who’ve worked to make them feel valuable to themselves and others.
Ostentatious is the word prompt of the day. I wrote about an experience that has remained with me over the years. It would have been too easy to write about our president-elect; who exemplifies the meaning behind it.
