Another Little Let Down

Sadie spent the better part of Saturday morning doing odd jobs for exorbitant rates. Get Jack cereal - $2. Pick-up toys in the hallway - $3. But I was hoping for the priceless outcome of the desired doll. So we reached the afternoon and she was about $5 short, so I told her I would make up the difference for a kiss and a smile and we went to the store.

However, the doll she wanted wasn't there. There was a different doll, with different hair color, different eye color, and different clothes, and she was fine, just different. So we took her and started towards the front of the store to pay, when Sadie said, "I don't like anything about this doll. I wanted brown hair, and brown eyes and I don't like her clothes. I wanted the other doll." So she went back on the shelf and because I can't haul four kids all over town to find the right doll, we will be back at another store on Monday just hoping that Alexis (she has already named her) is there waiting for us to take her home.

I'm glad that she admitted that this wasn't the doll for her. I;m glad that she is holding out for the doll of her dreams. I think she is wise to wait for the one she wants. I was that girl when I was little. I was the girl that would hold on to her money the whole shopping trip, just waiting for the perfect treasure.

One time, when I was about Sadie's age, we went to the San Jose Flea Market and I had ten dollars. The first aisle we went down I saw a miniature wicker chair (it was the eighties) and I really liked it. But what if I liked something else better? What if just around the corner was a tea set with pagodas hand painted on it? Or a gold necklace with a tiny heart charm? So I waited and when we went back the chair was gone. I was sad that day, but it was okay, it was a fun day and for me it has always been more about the journey than the destination.