A lesson well learnt

I have this uncanny ability to remember alot of detail from many years ago, details that usually do not matter, such as what somebody was wearing when we went to see a certain movie. My brother is the same as well, he can quote something I have said about five years ago, again it usually is something very insignificant! My mom always said we should have put this ability to better use with studies!!!!
You know when you are a kid and assume that the world revolves around you....well I was probably like that for the first seven years of my life. I remember clearly the incident that burst my bubble, and thank god for that! My birthday was approaching, I was about to turn seven. Like every other year before I assumed that I would have a birthday party, all the kids would be over, we would play fun games, I would get a cake with seven candles on it and I would get loads of gifts.....and all this would be in my honour!!! However this was not meant to happen. I remember my dad having a talk with me(he probably felt very bad to have to say this to me). He said that we were going to buy a car that year.....a second hand, old model of the Maruti 800(TCJ 63), oh the good ol' days! Because of this we would not be able to afford to have my birthday party. I think I took it quite well, considering I could throw a tantrum in those days! I remember thinking by me not having a birthday party, and making the ULTIMATE sacrifice, we could afford a car. So in my mind I actually thought I was contibuting to the purchase of this car...we were going to get a car because of my sacrifice...lol!!!So that's probably when I realised that the world did not revolve around me and I have loved to give ever since, in my own little way. It was a lesson well learnt. Of course it did not teach me anything about saving my money or my dad's for that matter!!