Flu is behind us....maybe a blessing in disguise. Now hopefully we all will be feeling well for the Christmas weekend.
I've finally got my mojo (?) back, and GirlKid and I hit the dollar stores for what I call 'accessory' gifts and stocking stuffers. I traded her rolled pennies for 'real' dollar bills and had her decide who she was buying gifts for this year. Grandma, Uncle Dwayne (and Poncho, his chihuahua), and Daddy. Luckily for her, her pennies added up to five dollars, so she also had one left for herself! Six year olds and dollar stores were made for each other. A buck for each gift...easy math.
It took about 30 minutes or more for her to make her final decisions. There was quite a bit of "I'll get this.....(put that down), no THIS...(put that down, too), now THIS is perfect." , with each persons gift. I was in the mood (rarely) to just let her take as long as she needed. If her choices were off the wall, heck, it's only a couple of bucks.
However, I was impressed with her choices:
Grandma: A calendar set
Reason: "So Grandma can keep track of things.....Like when I'm coming to visit, and when she has a doctor appointment, and to remember when the garbage man comes."
Uncle Dwayne: An ice scraper
Reason: " Because he has so many cars."
Poncho: Dog treats shaped like hamburgers
Reason: "So when he begs at the table, he can have his OWN hamburger."
Daddy: Zip ties
Reason: "Because I've seen them in his shop, and he doesn't have little ones like these."
Herself: A pair of 'el junko' mermaids
Reason: Because I wrecked my good mermaid's hair in the bathtub, and it won't matter if these get wrecked because they were cheap....and I really like them."
I had nothing but agreement to all of her choices, and to her great satisfaction she went through a checkout counter for the first time paying with her 'own' money, from her own purse and wallet, for gifts for other people. I was so tempted to help her get her money out of her stiff plastic wallet, as there was a line behind us, but I held off so I wouldn't squelch her first independent transaction. She carefully counted out the dollar bills to the cashier and then realized she didn't have any change for the 'extra' (tax). After a bit of a panic, she reached for her mermaids and said "Mom???" I told her I'd pay the tax and she could pay me when we got home. Relief flooded her face. A very quiet "I love you, mom." sealed the deal.
On the way out of the store, she said "Man, that was great, Mom. Five dollars, and I got something for everyone. I think I got my money's worth outta that place!"
I'm tempted to let her do the rest of the Christmas shopping!
I am so glad I am that kid's mom......I like the way she thinks, and I love the way she loves me.
13 comments:
Oh Kath you made me get all lumpy at the end of this piece.
I need to borrow our daughter's good sense and thriftyness, too.
Oh she's a keeper, and you too momma.
For real, you made me all lumpy.
Beautifully written piece her hon. xx, Lori
oh heck, that's YOUR daughter's good sense and thriftyness.
I could really see this hon, you put me right in the store there with you :-) How big and grown up of her to do the whole check out thing herself...these are the moments of little pride and love that being a parent is all about eh?
Glad you're over the flu. My eldest is just starting to feel lousy...slightly worried that it's headed our way!
Jo
smart shopping. my 14-yr. old still needs to shop, which we will do today and tomorrow. it'll be fun, but reading your post made me miss that 6-yr. old she was, just the other day.
glad to be reading your blog-it's most enjoyable.
My 4 year old granddaughter knows me pretty well... she wants to buy me a big box full of 100 CAMERAS! I sure hope she can afford it! ~ jb///
Lz reminded me, the other day my grandson asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I said, "Oh hon, I just want to spend Christmas with you and your dad, and aunt sissy and samps and George, Pa pa and aunt Becky...."
And he said, "No nana, what do you want, you know a thing, what thing do you want?"
So I said, "Hmm, maybe you could paint me a picture of a dragon, or something."
And he got this ornery look on his face and said, "Well, that depends on how you act..."
I think he was dying to tell someone that, I'm thinking he's been hearing it from his mom and dad...
xx, Lori
Love it! (I know how he feels!)
Your daughter is very sweet, thoughtful, and thrifty. Just as Jo said, I pictured her at the checkout with her billfold and her items, acting all grown up and sophisticated. How cute that must have been.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
wow... dollar stores and six year olds are meant for eachother. how perfect - and fun - was that?! what a great opportunity for her first very official transaction. and she handled like such a pro! you're bringing her up to be a very diligent and wise shopper/christmas shopper, that's for sure :o) great story. loved the reasoning behind all of the gifts! now that's the spirit of christmas: not how much you spend but the thought that goes into it!
Thank you, everyone, for your kind words. Compliments to my daughter bring me more joy and pride than if they were directed to something I had said or done.
I wish I could stop time...I can't wait to see who she will be as an adult, but for selfish reasons, I want it to stop so she will always fit onto my lap at night and ask for her book. It's the best time of the day...and I love childrens books for the interesting topics, and espcially for the beautiful artwork.
Lori, have you ever done illustrations for children's books? I would love to write one about the critters on the farm, but without the artist's work, it just wouldn't be attractive to children or adults.
Wow, that little sweetie should be purchasing supplies for the Army. We could save billions! No more $625 hammers, no more $1200.00 toilet seats! Next summer Im going to try to get on my bike and ride down to see you all. Just for fun! Merry Christmas! bro, kent
Oh Kath no I haven't but I'm thinking it might be something you and I could get into if we put our heads together just right.
What a marvelous idea!
I'm excited now.
xx, Lori
Ahhh, the TRUE spirit of Christmas...
Yummy post my dear.
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