It is said that the ability to accept and apply the principle of delayed gratification is a sign that a person has reached adulthood. Most of us start learning this principle early. No matter how old you are now, there’s a good likelihood that you have heard (and made) statements like these, some time in your life:
“Finish your homework before you turn on the TV.”
“Finish your chores before you go outside to play.”
“Finish your vegetables before you ask for dessert.”
Conventional wisdom dictates that the hard part has to come first; then—and only then—the pay-off follows. We even structure our meals on this model. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “dessert” as “a usually sweet course or dish (as of pastry or ice cream) usually served at the end of a meal.”
But, here’s some food for thought (sorry, I never could resist a pun). I recently ran across this anonymous quotation: “The best part of dinner is the dessert, and it usually arrives when you can’t eat any more.”
That puts things in a whole new light, don’t you think? Now that we’re independent, oh-so-mature adults, who can tell us that we can’t occasionally reverse the principle of delayed gratification? Wouldn’t a creamy wedge of cheesecake taste even better if you dug into it when you were really hungry, instead of stuffing it down after you’re already sated? Wouldn’t your “inner child” think she was really getting away with something? Wouldn’t it be FUN? We Red Hat Society members think so! And, if you need it, we even give you our permission to (at least occasionally) eat dessert first!
Sue Ellen Cooper, Exalted Queen Mother
Red Hat Society