There's a lovely passage in Cheaper By The Dozen that describes the Gilbreths' obsession with efficiency, which they consider next to godliness. While visiting her parents in California, Mother spends an afternoon making calls on old friends. She returns in triumph and announces to her mother, 'There! Six calls in two hours! Wasn't I efficient?'
'Perhaps, Lillie dear,' replies grandmother, 'perhaps you were a little too efficient.'
Which was as severe as the Gilbreth children had ever heard their grandmother sound, and it came as a surprise to them, since they were all in an agreement of admiration for their mother's efficiency.
I want my children to appreciate efficiency, of course. I'm just not sure I want them to be quite as warped as their mother is:
On wearing makeup:
Oh, bother, I have to wash my face tonight.
On being given a nice present for Jane:
Uh-oh, does it use batteries?
On receiving a complimentary 'three-day' sample of an expensive cosmetic:
Ha! Watch me make this last three months!
On picking up a quarter while shopping:
Wow, that just brought down my weekly budget!
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2 comments:
What would you say the value is of a "buy one get one free" wheat bread sale if I make the bread last 2 weeks?
Ooh, that's a good one! Of course the exact formula would depend on the cost of the initial loaf, the quality of the nutrition, and how long it usually takes you to eat a loaf of bread, but it sounds like a bargain to me!
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