Monday, November 06, 2006

God said share, but they don't care

The other night one of my nephews was upset because he got some money in the mail from grandparents with the instruction to share it with his baby sister. This is only the first or second time that it's happened, and he kept saying "what does she need money for, she's a BABY." Because sharing it meant that he'd be $5 short for some kind of snow speeder super duper trick toy that he could NOT live without.

Despite having several new toys in his possession and one on order from Target online, this really burnt him. I got to thinking a little about how prone I am to doing stuff like that. (You are too, fess up. It's human nature.) I told him "God said share, but _______ don't care" (cause I think it's funny) and my sister said he walked around the house, laughing like a fool all night and saying "God said SHARE, but _______ don't CARE!" and he pretty much got over it.

So I had this long post about how I grew up in Michigan and it's still funny here to me in Tennessee that they close the schools everytime it snows, and how I need a new winter jacket because mine is shot and the last time I bought a new one, Kirsten was my roommate and I was dating a guy named Butch. (I have a long history of dating guys with dog names.) I found several in the $200 range, but it felt silly to buy one for that much in order to wear it maybe one month of the year, and I really didn't like that the only color available in one of the coats was red and white, and being from Michigan I'd get disowned for wearing a jacket that is those colors. Also, down here people would think I was a Bama fan, and we can't have THAT. (Maybe Betty or Kirsten will tell you why I would get disowned for wearing red and white.) But I do need a winter coat, because at least once or twice I've been caught in freezing rain and stranded, and my 20 minute commute turned into a four-hour nightmare of driving home on a skating rink in a 2,500 pound automobile with lots of other, but crazy, people doing the same thing. But in addition to the no red-and-white rule it really would be just silly of me to get a coat with white sleeves, since we have just entered Nosebleed season here in the dry-as-a-bone South. I was really moping about these pricey coats and how much yarn I could get for that and more or less feeling just like my nephew except no sharing was involved. 

Today I found one online for half the money, good brand but no fancy zip-out liner and (thankfully) in black. I'll be ordering it tonight and taking advantage of free shipping. 

The nephew? His Target order wouldn't go through, so he decided to get the toy that was on order at Target when he visits Gran at Thanksgiving. And, funny enough, no $6 shipping charge means he now has enough to get the snow speeder thingy. 

Things look better in the morning, even when you are talking about buying all kinds of goofy toys you don't need, or a coat so you can be warm on the few days of the year it drops down into the 20s here.

Chris, no laughing. 

6 Comments:

Blogger Sarah said...

I also grew up in MI and now live in Middle TN. All my winter coats hit the "way too old/out of style" phase last year. I had to get a dress coat and a play coat. I hit the after Christmas sales (while home in MI) and got some really good deals. I also have a pair of snow boots, long underwear and ski pants I never use!

4:22 PM  
Blogger Kelly said...

I, on the other hand, moved to Virginia from Alabama and had to buy a winter coat and long underwear for the first time in my life. And learn to build five minutes into my morning for scraping.

Yes, wearing my alma mater's colors in Tennessee is unwise. I made the mistake of wearing them to the UA-Tennessee game several weeks ago. It pains me to say that I am sort of glad we lost because otherwise I would not have gotten out of there intact. Few things put the fear of God into you like hearing the entire student section chant "(Censored) you Bama."

4:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You clearly grew up in the great white north, as a month of 20 sounds miserable to me. I have more winter coats than I care to count that I bought when I moved to San Francisco 6 years ago, and I use them all at least 3-4 months of the year here (still in the SF Bay area). I couldn't imagine the layers I'd have to pile on with those coats if I lived somewhere where it hits 20. But I did grow up in So Cal after all.

Congrats on your online find! :)

5:04 PM  
Blogger Betty said...

LOL! I think OSU's colors are technically red and silver. Oddly enough, red is my fave all-time color. And I'm not much of a navy person. All of my navy is Michigan paraphenalia.

7:21 AM  
Blogger Jen said...

Actually if memory serves, Kirsten is a Buckeyes fan - maybe she will know for sure!

8:56 AM  
Blogger Betty said...

Wait, I looked it up.

Scarlet and Gray.

2:27 PM  

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