The Value of Money

Thank goodness days are getting longer and weather is getting nicer! It's sure great to get the kids outside in a time period that's not insane with snow and ice and rain. We took a family hike to Clayton Beach recently.

Lily did great, given her small teensy legs and she was a warrior princess on the steep rock incline down to the beach. Jamisen loved climbing on the rocks and had a great time really pushing his physical limits. 

Tonight, Chris made an offhand comment about how there wasn't anything he wanted to eat for dinner in the house. I said "Oh, do you want me to run to the store for you?" Jamisen, who listens very closely to everything repeated that to me just a few minutes later when I was looking for something in the fridge, "Oh Mamma, do you want me to run to the store for you?" When we explained that his car was not actually road-worthy and he would need to wait until he was 16 years old to drive, he got disappointed, quiet and thoughtful.

Then he said, "But when I'm 16, how will I buy a car? I don't have enough money to buy a car." Chris and I looked at eachother and silently freaked out at how amazingly forward-thinking our 5 year old is. And then calmly said, "Well, when you're 12 years old, you'll be mowing neighbor's laws and walking their dogs for money. Then when you're 14, you'll get a job somewhere for training wages. And when you're 16, you'll get a real job for minimum wage. You'll save half of your money and be able to spend half of your money. And that's how you'll afford a car."

He pondered that and then said, "I have a much better idea! I have soooo much of a better idea! I am going to weed plants, water gardens and become a gardener and that is how I will make money to buy a car." 

Then Chris and I melted in a puddle of happiness, love and cute overload. The end. 

 

Jamisen is quite aware of what money is since he just spent all of his tooth fairy/above-and-beyond-chore money to buy 2 skeins of knitting yarn. He likes the idea of knitting more than he likes the actual practice of knitting. But, he'll get there.

We recently went bowling with the kiddos and one of Jamisen's best friends (Chance). It was fun to see the kids have a good time, not be competitive and enjoy each other's company. It was also hilarious to see that their attention span doesn't quite work for an entire game. Whoops.