This is my son...
He solidified this in Wal-Mart today when challenged with spending his Christmas money.
Thanks to Grandma's Christmas money, a Wal-Mart gift card from the return of one of our two Up movies, a credit for a clothing item that still needs to be returned, and a few dollars from me in payment for the pure joy of watching the negotiations, we have a new family member...
If you are into preschool boys, then you are probably aware that this guy is Spike, the Ultra (or Ultimate, as Dax calls him) Dinosaur. Spike is a little creature who walks, lights up, roars, carries a bone, tosses a ball, stands on his hind legs, laughs, snores, swallows, sneezes, and best of all, burps. He has lifted doll cradles, chased Lily, and roared at the dog. This delightful guy retails for $140. If you think I paid that kind of $$ for him, you don't know me very well.
We headed to Wal-Mart, $10 bills in hand, gift card tucked in pocket, so that the boys could spend their Christmas money. This is a big deal. I'm not the kind of parent who buys trinkets for no reason, or uses bribery of the toy variety to get my way. The only time my kids ever get to go into a store and buy something of their choosing is when they have Christmas or Birthday money. Usually I try to get them to make practical choices. Today we were planning to use the gift card for a leapster case that would hold both boys games. However, they were out of them. What we did find was the beginning of Wal-Mart’s toy clearance. There were lots of 50% deals. The boys knew they could buy one thing or a combination of things adding up to about $10. They also knew that if they found something big that they really wanted they could put all the money together for one big item. They walked hand in hand, holding onto the cart, couldn't have been acting nicer (I guess the idea of buying toys can do that to them!). They put several things in the cart, discussing the merits of each as it went in.
And then it happened....Dax saw it...the one and only one on the shelf, price tag reading clearance $59.50.
Jumping up and down, Dax exclaimed, "Mom! Finny! Mom! Look, Look! It's Spike! Spike the Ultimate Dinosaur! I want him! I want him! Mom, can I buy him? "
I already knew there were no leapster cases. I also knew that Spike is usually $80 more. I did the math in my head and figured the boys had somewhere in the neighborhood of $52ish between them. I also had it pass through my mind that if it turns out to be horrible I could probably sell in on Craigslist for more. Funny how your (or mine, as the case may be!) brain works...I looked at him and responded "Well, it would be up to Finn. We can put it in the cart and take everything back to the price scanner and make some decisions."
Then it began, "Finny, don't you want this big dinosaur? It is really cool, just like on the planet hero’s video. Oh Finny, it would be so cool. It's Spike, Finny, don't you want him? Don’t you?"
By this time Finn had his heart set on a Thomas the Train ball and several other things we stashed in the cart. We headed back to the price checker and started sorting our options.
Finn was all about the more things the better. Dax, it seems has outgrown this. He was really looking at a big transformer, and asked if he chose that could he maybe get Spike for his birthday? Or if he got Spike, could he have the transformer for his birthday? I told him that mat be possible, but Spike was a one day only opportunity, I would not be paying full price for that. The negotiations were held on the floor next to the price checker (I apologize to anyone needed to use it for those 10 minutes).
The outcome? Well, obviously you've seen the pictures, you know Spike came home, but so did the $1.50 Thomas the Train Ball, paid for by Dax with money from his piggy bank. Sometimes, you just have to figure out how to get someone what he wants so he'll swing his vote your way. I know he's my son, because he got a great deal, but I'm wondering if Dax may have a future in politics....I probably should start praying now!
1 comment:
I cannot believe that I don't know what a Spike is. He looks pretty cool, though. And I totally see Dax in politics. :)
Post a Comment