Another conversation in the car-
Allison: (In reference to her sister’s report card earnings) What? You pay her for good grades?
Me: Yes, why?
Allison: Mom, I made great grades in 9th grade and you never paid me… No encouragement… that might explain a whole lot…. You treat her so differently than you did Catie and me when we were her age….
Me: No, not really
Allison: Yes, you do… she gets a new costume each Halloween… Catie and I were 50’s girls for years
Me: No you weren’t. You had new costumes each year but you just didn’t like them…. remember your Joan of Arc costume?
Allison: Yeah, where did you get the outfit, Goodwill?
Me: Uh, maybe….
Allison: And Catie was Pippi Longstocking
Me: That’s because she asked to be Pippi… and you have to admit, it was a great costume
Allison: Mom, you braided her hair to a coat hanger…and put on non-matching socks… and what about Cinderella before and after?
Me: That was a great costume!
Allison: Mom, you even admitted that was a last minute costume… an old dress you ripped up and covered with makeup
Leah: (chiming in from the back seat) It was very creative, Mom
Me: Thank you, Leah…. I think all of them were very creative….
Allison: Creative is the word you use when you don’t want to buy your kids a costume!
Me: I think you’re right! And ‘you can do better’ are the words we use when we don’t want to pay our kids for their good grades…
We all laugh….
(Well, I guess we do get Leah new costumes each year… new to her anyway…)
The Prodygal Life 