The Things We Do For Our Kids…

Let me set the stage…

Last weekend Dallas went to a birthday party and among the party favors she received was a pair of binoculars…

Please examine Exhibit A:

Hunter saw them and immediately loved them…in starts the argument… “that is mine” from Dallas. Of course, sibling rivalry, right?! Do you know what I’m talking about.

Well, Eric and Hunter left this morning for a “boy’s trip” to Florida to go to the Phillies Spring Training with Poppy.

Eric made the comment that Hunter should take Dallas’ binoculars to see the players.

Oh Daddy, what did you start???

No, Hunter was NOT allowed to take those binoculars. Because what is she going to do with them??? Put them in her cabinet of course and never look at them again. But there is no way Hunter was taking them with him.

So, yesterday I picked Hunter up from preschool and told him we had to run a few errands before going home. We stopped at Target and he asked if we could find him some binoculars like Dallas’ for his trip. He was very sweet and I have a hard time telling him no sometimes. So we looked.

We found some “real” Daddy type binoculars. Problem – they were too big for him and $20….not paying $20 for binoculars.

So we left Target. Normally, he would pitch a fit and whine about how he wanted some binoculars. But, he didn’t. He simply said, “Mommy, we just have to look harder.”

And we did.

We went to Five Below…no binoculars.

We had to stop in Once Upon a Child to pick up some money and figured we’d look there too…no binoculars.

We stopped at Party City; surely they would have them…no binoculars.

At this point I’m starving and completely losing energy. I told Hunter we’d go home, get some lunch, and try again. He was fine with it…again, being totally patient.

On the way home I figured we’d go ahead and stop at The Dollar Tree…no binoculars.

Last stop – Wal-Mart. {Notice we still haven’t made it home for lunch…but we were both determined.}

Guess what?

You guessed it…Wal-Mart had binoculars.

Please examine Exhibit B:

They were $8.00…much better than the $20.00 adult ones, and also nicer ones than Dallas’.

Perfect…sigh of relief.

You would think so…but N.O.

Hunter gets this pouty face and says he doesn’t want these because they are not like Dallas’. He wants them exactly like Dallas’. He only likes hers.

This Mama about lost it in the middle of Wal-Mart on this four year old boy…but I kept my composure.

I told him, “Fine we won’t get them and you won’t have any for the baseball games.”

He then wanted them, but not really wanted them.

So, I came up with the idea that maybe Dallas would trade with him. She does like prettier things and these are more fancy.

All the while I’m walking through Wal-Mart, giving my son the ‘this’ and the ‘that’ of how I could not believe I’ve driven to 5 stores to find him binoculars and now he doesn’t want them.

As I’m doing this what else is going through my head…my Mama. Yes, I could hear her plain as day and how I shouldn’t get them and he shouldn’t have them…and I couldn’t agree more.

Problem…they were leaving at 5:30 this morning and he needed some binoculars. So, against my normal better judgment I bought those binoculars.

I was so mad I could just spi-it! {Yes, that’s my southern coming out.} He moped and pouted all afternoon and I couldn’t even look at him.

We picked Dallas up from school and she actually agreed to trade with him. Whew!

The boys left at the crack of dawn this morning and packed in his backpack…none other than Dallas’ binoculars…

again Exhibit A:

Moral to this story? Not really sure, but I’m sure there’s one somewhere.

All I can say is…the things we do for our kids!