
I took both of my kids shopping on Saturday. They needed a few things. With that little bit of info and the above cartoon, you can probably already see where I'm going with this.
I bought my daughter two pairs of boots. One pair for winter and one pair to wear. The winter ones aren't waterproof. I live in Canada by the way. Our winters are cold and snowy and wet and yucky. These boots are lined with fur and are very warm on the inside. As long as they don't get wet on the outside that is. And did I mention these boots are not waterproof? Oh, I did? I guess I'm still trying to compute that little tidbit. My daughter is thrilled with her new winter boots. She assures me that they are totally suitable for our miserable Canadian winters because (a) she's not a little kid anymore and she's not going to muck around in the snow and (b) everyone else has them.
Yeah, yeah...I know it doesn't make sense. Yeah, yeah...you don't have to tell me I'M the mother. Do I have to tell YOU that doesn't actually mean I'm in charge?
The jeans I had planned to buy her for Christmas are...well...she's wearing them to school today. And the new sweater I wasn't going to buy...well, it was half price. I did draw the line at buying the twenty dollar beret. I mean, you've got to take a stand somewhere, right? We'll probably get it next week.
I'm not even going to tell you what I bought for my son. When I balked at the price of the BillaBong shirt, (trendy name-brand with appropriate matching price tag) he asked me how much money I've spent on clothes for my daughter in comparison to him.
I got him the BillaBong belt too.
How much money would it take to make me happy? It's hard to put a number on it. The cost of life always seems to ebb and flow. I recall griping about the expense of diapers and formula. A friend with teenagers told me to suck it up and quit complaining. She said diapers and formula were the least expensive time of a parent's life. What's that they say about hindsight?
So, again...how much money would it take to make me happy? I dunno. I'd have to say all in all, I'm pretty happy right now. I'm not rich and I'm not poor. More important, my family is healthy and enjoying life. My mom and dad are both still around. I have a career that I love. There's not a whole lot more one needs, is there?
Although...orthodontal insurance wouldn't hurt...