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 Holly Winter Living The Life Of Holly Apr. 25, 2003 “Honey. Just go in and walk around and see if there is something that you really, really want.” I said. “Yeah.” Ralph agreed. “Then if you want it, we can come back tomorrow and you can buy it.” We were trying to teach his twelve year old daughter, Sarah, about shopping. “But I want you to help me.” Ralph sighed. “Help you with what?” “Help me pick out what I want.” He laughed. “How can I help you pick out what you want?” I smiled. “Sarah, honey. You know. You don’t have to spend your money. You can just look at things without buying them, like your father and I do every day.” “I know.” Sarah said, sadly. “But this is a Build a Bear place. I have always wanted to build a bear of my own.” My best friend, Ralph was growing impatient. “It’s your money. You can do whatever you want to do with it. But. Remember. You don’t have to buy it today. You can think about it today, and buy it tomorrow. I can drive you to another mall tomorrow, and we can see what they have too. There isn’t a rush. But you can do whatever you want to do, ok?” “Ok.” She sulked. “But I want you to help me find what I want.” “Sorry honey. We are going to sit out here. You walk around and think about what looks good, then invite us in and show us what you have decided on. You have to think about what you want. No compulsive shopping, ok?” I said. “Ok.” She said, getting lured away by the stuffed animals. As soon as we left, the salesman began working her over. She ran back to us, brimming with excitement. “Guess what? I have to buy something today. Know why?” “Why?” I asked, unimpressed. “Well. The bunny, which is the best one here, is only going to be here for two more days.” She said, breathlessly. “Oh yeah?” “Yeah. That guy right there told me so.” I waved to the friendly salesman. He didn’t wave back. “You know.” I said to the twelve year old who wasn’t listening. “You can still decide to buy it tomorrow.” “Nope. I’m buying it today. This bunny is the best thing here. Even the guy said so. And they might run out because everyone wants one for Easter.” We walked in with her and watched her bunny get stuffed. The girl working the stuffing machine talked to Sarah. “What’s your bunny’s name?” “I don’t know yet.” Sarah said. She looked at us. “Bob. His name is Bob.” “Great name!” The girl said, encouragingly. Next Bob got a pretend bath while Ralph and I tried to be excited for the fake brush and soap that the poor bunny was experiencing. “Oh. He looks much cleaner now.” I said. “I know.” Sarah said, hugging him. She typed out his birth certificate and added all of her personal information so that she would be sure to get tons of junk mail for life. Oh. There is nothing like shopping, is there? She stopped to look at miniature clothing and was immediately drawn to the dresses. “Oh. This is so cute! He would look perfect in this!” She said holding up the pink, frilly dress to Bob. Ralph was taken back. “You are going to put a pink dress on a boy? What kind of Mommy are you?” “But I like the dress.” She said. “Maybe I can change his name.” “Too late.” Ralph said. “You already made the birth certificate. See. You shouldn’t have bought him till you had time to plan it out. Now you can’t have a dress. Too late.” “But I like the dress.” I know. Maybe I shouldn’t have saved her. The idea was to teach her not to buy things the moment she sees them. “Well. I guess that if you named your bunny, Roberta, then Bob could be the nickname.” “YEAH! Roberta. That totally works.” She said, hugging the bunny of many names. “Nope. That bunny will always be Bob to me.” Ralph said. She happily paid for her bunny and agreed to pick out the clothes another day. The naked bunny was proudly carried through the mall. I picked up Bunny Bob. “I don’t care what you call your bunny.” I said, biting his ear. “I just want you to always remember, I was the first one to bite his ear.” Sarah cried, “Oh. Bob. Sorry. She will never do that again. I’ll save you. Bad Holly. Poor, poor Roberta.” Ralph turned to Sarah. “Who is going to pay for the therapy?” “You mean for the ear biting?” She asked. “No. For switching between a boys and a girls name all the time.” “Holly will.” “Why me?” I asked. “Because it seems to me that you are into compulsive biting. You should learn to plan your biting at least one day in advance.” She answered, with a smirk that might just change the world one day. About the author: Holly Winter is a teacher and a writer and a flight attendant living in Denver, Colorado, USA. She can be reached at her website or email: Holly@livingthelifeofholly.com ------------ Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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