Yesterday was the first time I’d ever done that. But every parent does it at least once in their life, right?
Meredith wasn’t demanding about the toy. (If that were the case, I wouldn’t have bought it.) She was simply joyful to have discovered it. She saw it hanging up by the milk aisle (strategically placed where mothers are going to be shopping with their children, I’m sure) and she fell in love with it. I’ve never seen her so happy to find a toy in my life. I let her hold it (that was my first “mistake”) and she clutched it tightly all throughout the store.
When it came time to check out, I looked at the price and it was only $3.99. So, I bought it.
We work hard for our money and we might as well spend it on making our daughter happy, right? Anyway, that was my logic.
To justify this to Kevin, I decided to tell him that God told me to buy the toy. (How can you argue with that?) And here is proof – when we got home I noticed that the doll (a cheerleader) had an “M” printed on her t-shirt. I hadn’t noticed this until AFTER we got home. This is proof positive that this doll was meant for our little girl.
In the end Kevin didn’t really mind that I bought it. We both now think it’s funny – we have this cheap, blonde piggy-tailed doll to add to our toy collection. But Meredith likes it and that’s what matters.
Oh, yes, and I biked to the grocery store with Meredith in the trailer behind me. There’s a grocery store very close to our house (three-tenths of a mile) but it’s tiny and not well stocked. So, I decided to bike to the one that’s over a mile away. The trailer holds a lot of stuff so I can nearly buy a week’s worth of groceries if I do this.
Biking to the “big” grocery store wouldn’t have been a big ordeal except there were places en route where the sidewalk ended and I had to bike either on the grass or on the busy street. Since I had the baby in tow I opted for the grass. It was one of the hottest days we’ve had since August and by the time we got home I was sweating like a pig.
If I keep up with this biking business (which I probably will since we’re down to one car) I’m going to have the nicest legs in town.
Hmmmm ... Maybe our second car dying was a blessing in disguise!
4 comments:
This is wonderful! I agree with your reasoning - in no way were you encouraging temper tantrums or selfishness - and think it's fabulous that you are open-minded enough to discern when it's worth making a little effort to please your daughter. Someone wrote a post awhile back about not being a knee-jerk 'No-Mommy,' and I think that's a great lesson to learn.
What an adorable picture, too!
I haven't done anything comparable yet, but I think it is wonderful to be spontaneous and generous. After all, haven't you ever received an unexpected gift (from someone or from God)? It makes you feel so loved. That is a great gift to bestow on our children.
Keep biking.... :)
rlr
Awwww! She looks so CUTE with the doll! I would have done it too! =)
Word to the wise, from one biker to another up-coming biker ...
your legs won't get in shape -- your thighs will. In fact, they'll probably double in size. :)
Take this as a helpful hint from a woman who DOES do all her grocery shopping via a bike. :)
Gotta love living in China.
Love you, Ames!
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