Cure for Mondays: husband

Big brother shopping

We knew he was saving for an additional video game but he unselfishly offered his own savings for his sister even if it meant he might need to start with a zero balance all over again.

We dropped by the baby store after we had lunch at Sushi King last Saturday because the little lady of the house needed a few things. The short list included shoes. Time went by so quickly—it literally zipped and zapped right before my eyes, and those lovely feet significantly grew bigger without me noticing. I get kicked here and there, alright, but until I tried to put on her Carter’s canvass skimmer pre-walkers, they looked the same to me.

So the pairs she had on her shoe shelf suddenly became yesterday’s fashion. I had to hold myself while looking for a good pair of shoes because those tiny little things make me go crazy and I’d want to buy all the cute ones I’d see on the shelves. But a budget is a budget is a budget is a budget… That has become my mantra since I became a mother, which is why we try to stick to what is essential, if we can help it. We’re not big spenders; we just think a lot of things are important. Ha-ha, ten fingers pointing back at me — silly me. And well, hubby.

Sole search
We let Attika try on a few pairs. The doting dad wanted to get all the pinks and I wanted to get her boys’ shoes so we had to ask Attika which ones she liked. She responds by pointing when she’s asked to make choices. It’s an exercise Cole taught her. You hold two things up to her then she’ll point or touch the one she likes.

Turns out Her Majesty fell for a pair of pre-walker Mary Janes and a cute pair of sandals. The two pairs were thrown into the shopping basket along with baby wipes and a trainer cup. With the sippy cup, Cole made her choose between the elephant and the giraffe. She looked back and forth between the two for about a minute until she decided the giraffe was more like her style.

Values for money
When it was time to pay, Cole suddenly got the shopping cradle from me. It’s really like him to be helpful so I gladly gave it to him, but then he suddenly set it down on the floor, knelt down beside it and got something out of his pocket. He took out his money (which I did not know he had) and started counting. When he finished he got up and said, “I’m paying.”

That very moment I was almost moved to tears because any other 10-year old would rather buy stuff for himself. We knew he was saving for an additional video game but he unselfishly offered his own savings for his sister even if it meant he might need to start with a zero balance all over again. Honestly, I don’t know how much money he’s keeping. All I know is that he knows how to save money and he does it well.

Attika went home with her new shoes; my husband and I went home with newfound pride. Kids do listen. That’s one thing we learned from our son—the ever loving brother.