Take this week, for instance. The PTO at his school hosted a "Santa's workshop" full of junk. The kids were given an opportunity to shop for presents. For a price, of course. A very steep price, to be exact. He was very excited about it, though, so I gave him $20 on Monday with instructions to buy presents for his family.
When I picked him up from school after his shopping excursion, he couldn't wait to get home to wrap them. Not only did he buy gifts for our family, he bought them for a few of his friends. Oh, and one for himself. The entire ride home, he talked about how much fun it was going to be to do it again the following day.
Oh, no sir! You've done all the shopping in
No way in hell was I going to give him more money for that place. For twenty bucks, he came home with a plastic rat (no lie...a damn plastic rat for his uncle. Sorry, Beeg), a "Greatest Dad" hat, an "I Love Mom" stuffed bear, sparkly compact mirror, and a Santa bell necklace. The damn PTO ought to be ashamed of themselves! Taking advantage of poor little 5 and 6 year olds like that... $20 for a few Dollar Tree trinkets?? If you need money, just ask. Don't peddle junk to unsuspecting kids. Shame on you!
But I guess it was more about the joy he received from it. Right?!? Oh, and when I told him I wouldn't give him any money, he replied with "If you don't have any money, Mom, they will take a debit card." Really?!?! Did the PTO actually advertise that fact?
No, no, NO! You are very sweet to be so giving, but we can't spend all our money on gifts for others. (I felt bad for that comment as soon as it came out of my mouth.)
Little Mr. Determination never, ever takes "no" for an answer, and this time was no exception. Instead, he robbed his own piggy bank. Since he just had his birthday party and received several monetary gifts, that bank was fresh on his mind. Before school, he grabbed another $20 and put it in his pocket. When I picked him up, he had another big bag of loot. He was too excited or else he'd have realized that he probably should have hidden it from me. "Look, Mom!" with the biggest grin you've ever seen.
Oh, where did you get all that Sweetie?
"Daddy gave me some money!"
Really? Well, I'm going to have a little talk with him! I hate to admit that I actually believed that story. I was furious with my husband because he is such a passive parent. Anything to keep them from screaming. As I pulled out my cell phone to rip Mr. OCD a new one, I saw the panic in my little darling's eyes.
"Okay, Mom. I'll tell you the truth. I got money out of my piggy bank. I took one with a twenty on it. Are you going to tell Daddy? Is he going to spank me?"
When I told his daddy, I was shocked at his response. I was expecting him to hit the ceiling and freak out as usual. I anticipated that I'd have to talk him out of a full-blown tirade. After all, I'm usually the voice of reason in our family. That's what I do.
Instead? Mr. OCD just laughed and said, "Well, he's his mother's son, isn't he?"
 |
| E showing off the goods. |
Uggghhh... I hate when he's freakin' right!
3 comments:
Those cheap gifts are such a prank! The kids at the school I work at have the same thing, so all this past week they came to after school care with bags of crap that they planned on giving their family and such. I remember having these things when I was younger, but I NEVER remember buying anything. Good for your boy that he knows he has to use his own money to get the goods!
all i can think about is that your child is oh so sweeett! and cute!!! :)
With a nearly 17 year old I can attest that I have witnessed just about every PTA scheme there is, not to mention having served as PTA Treasurer.
The sad fact is that schools just aren't funded well anymore...well, at least our schools are not. With county commissions full of land developers, no one is going to let a property tax hike get through (11 years and counting now, not one extra penny). The PTA I have been associated with has purchased security cameras, playground equipment, awnings so children don't get rain soaked, computers, etc. etc. In high school, it's not so bad. (yeah right). I get to fork over hundreds and hundreds because no school here properly funds a marching band program or even Driver's Ed. It takes $1000 just to get the band kids on school buses driven 20 minutes to downtown for a parade. Believe me, it's no easier to dig for cold, hard unadulterated cash than it is to thinly veil the request through a cutesy Santa store. In fact, the elementary here USED to have such a store with similar "gifts". The kids really loved it but it wasn't continued after a couple of years. Many parents have asked for it to be reinstated since grandparents, etc have such fond memories of receiving yet another ceramic coffee mug. (Sigh) Sometimes I really miss those days, even if they involve kitschy crap.
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Am I right, or what?