Delayed Gratification

Confession time...

yesterday, and the day before, I was jonesing for a bag of Roasted Garlic and Black Bean Tostitos.  Not the healthiest choice but ooooohhh, the flavour...

I'm an adult right? And it wasn't too late, 8:30 or so on a Monday. Blessed with transportation, I jumped in the van and went to the local Avondale to see if I could pick up a bag.  Anticipating success, I practically skipped through the front door and up to the chip stand.  I spotted Tostitos and my heartbeat quickened but on closer inspection, they had limited their supply to the basic Rounds and Scoops.

Ever the optimist, I circled the stand hoping to find MY chips on the back side but, NO.  Just another assortment of dill pickled this and sour cream and onion that.  How many brands of those does a store really need to carry?

Disappointed, I grabbed a bag of riceworks sweet chili chips and made do.

Fast forward to Tuesday...

Having scratched my itch the night before with the rice chips, I went through most of my day before I was hit with a yearning for Tostitos.  Thankfully, I was at the park with the kids when the itch resurfaced.  A park which is adjacent to a plaza!

When we were locked and loaded in the van, I announced a need to make a pitstop.  I ran into a small grocery chain store and searched the chip aisle for my desire. Same as Monday, this store's stock didn't include the chips I was looking for.  

But it's a plaza, remember, so I was able to go to the drug store and BINGO, what do you know, there are my chips.

I skipped back to the van, (yes, I know, but skipping CAN look cool) and drove home where I got distracted by overseeing the lunch making, bedtime snack eating, tooth brushing and tucking in routine.  By the time I returned to my unopened bag, hours had passed.

I got caught up in writing, then decided to unwind with a long hot bath before hopping into bed with a movie and my Tostitos. Opening credits still rolling, I grabbed the bag and started to rip it open when I'll be darned if I didn't ask myself why I was eating them. I wasn't hungry, it was late and they were probably going to cause me more pain than pleasure.

I pressed pause on the DVD and stared at the chips.

A conversation I heard earlier in the day on CBC about Walter Mischel, professor of humane letters in psychology at Columbia University and his "Marshmallow Experiment" came back to me.  Essentially, the late 1960's study tested the self-control of young children.  Mischel and his colleagues put a child in a room with a marshmallow.  They were told that they could eat the treat or if they waited until the adult returned, they could have two treats. The youngster was then left alone while experimenters looked on. 

The interesting part of the study is what happened AFTER the marshmallow.  The subjects were followed into adulthood to see if those who waited or not indicated who the kids would become.  The conclusion?Self-control can be learned.

My conclusion?  

I'm an adult right? I would like to think that as a child I would have waited for the adult to return and been rewarded with the two treats but really, I'm not sure.

I put the chips aside and lay down to watch the movie.  This morning I was greeted by the unopened bag and smiled to myself for waiting.

Tonight, when I take my 5-year-old to dance I will again be adjacent to the plaza where I bought those Tostitos. I know they're not the same as marshmallows but since I waited, I reckon I'm entitled to run into the drugstore and buy a second bag!