Rachel Spending Her Money

Rachel has some money that she received for Christmas.  When Rachel has money it is not static or inanimate. It calls her, it woos her, it whispers, “Spend me, Rachel.”

It is very persuasive.

We were at the toy area of a Cracker Barrel restaurant tonight and Rachel was in her seeking mode. Her money was talking.  As I watched her, an idea struck me. 

“Perhaps this could be a learning moment,” I thought. So, I walked up and told her, “You know, Rachel, you don’t have to spend your money.  You can save it. If you save it, now, you can have it for other things—maybe even better things—later.”

She turned and looked at me and gave a very brief moment of thought to my statement. Then she laughed and proceeded to buy a toy.

A Fun Story Instigated By Christmas Ads

All the Christmas ads I’m seeing on TV have reminded me of a time when my I found some of the Christmas presents my mom had purchased and hidden in a closet. 

(I prefer to think of my finding the presents not being a result of relentless snooping but rather the kind of thing that happens when you have a child with a curious mind. But, come to think of it, that might just be my attempt to rationalize sneaky behavior.)

So, since I now knew the location of these presents, I became “sick” and needed to stay home from school in order to rest and be restored to full health.  While I was home from school, alone, I got my presents out from the hiding place and played with them.  Then I quickly put them back in the closet before anyone got home.

You know what’s interesting about all this? Alright, I’ll tell you. I think I had more fun playing with the presents when I did it in secret than after I actually got them for real on Christmas morning.

That must be one of those strange realities of human nature, huh?

P.S.  The Christmas I’m referring to in the story happened several years later than the time of this picture but this was the only old picture I could find in which I’m holding a Christmas gift from my childhood.