On a recent snow day we braved the snow and took the kids out to eat. Afterwards I stopped at a nearby bookstore to browse. To keep the kids happy during that time I gave them each a buck to spend at the Dollar store with Lisa.
Fifteen minutes later I collected the family. To my chagrin Smiley had spent his dollar on an elaborate Chinese folding fan decked out in black laquer and gold accents. Not only did he buy it, he was zealously protective of it, cradling it in the car on the way home.
" What the -," I asked Lisa.
"I know," she said,"I kept trying to talk him out of it but he wouldn't even consider something else. Just let it go, it's only a fan."
Yeah, a very girly fan. But she was right, it didn't matter, and we went on with our day. Later Smiley came up to me in the kitchen beaming with pride.
"Dad,wanna see what I got?" he asked.
"Sure," I said with a measure of reluctance.
He took out the fan, opened it, and promptly whipped it at one of his sisters.
"I bought a boomerang!" he said.
I burst out laughing.
