Bubbles and Spaghetti

I was blowing bubbles with Sam late one evening in August. We were running low on bubble solution in his dish, and I carefully poured in a little bit for him. He was still running low, so I poured a tiny bit more. Then I realized that I was hoarding the bubble solution for no good reason. I was holding an enormous container, knowing that we only do bubbles a few times a year, and still holding back from pouring in a nice healthy quantity of bubble solution that would maximize our enjoyment.

I was violating the parenting commandment:

Know when to spend out.

Unrelated to parenting, the same rule applies to cooking spaghetti. If you cook spaghetti for dinner, and it runs out, and you're not on a diet, you just made yourself go hungry to save 4 cents. My mom was the champion of not making enough spaghetti. In most cases I have overcome this genetic tendency. But once in a while I catch myself hoarding bubbles, and need to remind myself to spend out.

Note, this principle applies to bubble baths, also.