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Flurried and Flurries

March 5th, 2012 at 04:10 pm

It was a bit of a flurried week, but Friday's snow was more than flurries, I guess.
DD had a friend over for a sleepover on Friday, and the three of us went to see "The Lorax." I'm continually amazed at the behavior of some children--which of course precipitated a lecture to DD on Saturday.

DD's friend is actually one of our favorites. She's a very nice little girl, and we like her whole family. The movie theater has a full restaurant attached. I've never been there before, but had a Groupon for it, so off we went. At full price, the three 3D tickets would have been $30. We ordered a pizza--then DD's friend asked if we were also having appetizers--and could she have a root beer float. One set of mozz sticks and two root beer floats later, my DD was struggling. She's not the world's biggest eater, but DD's friend cruised right through all the food, asking before the film started if we could also go for ice cream later.

Food at the theater with tip $42. Another $10 at the ice cream shop where friend wanted a waffle cone--then a big waffle cone dipped in chocolate, then asked if she could have anything she wanted. I reined it in a bit, but she did end with a double waffle cone topped with sprinkles. DD and I were about at our limits. Yet we had lots of fun. But has anyone else been faced with this?
I kept thinking about my mom's lectures to not ask parents for more things--and I always send cash with DD. But I think we're in the minority.

On Saturday I headed to the grocery store, graded papers, and then went out with some friends. Of the five of us, one friend (who insisted on paying for a favor we did her last fall) is in bankruptcy, another is in the middle of a short sale on their home, another is months behind on rent. Yikes! I felt strange and prosperous.

DH and I had a long discussion about how people deal with money stress. I'm a natural withdrawer. If things are tough, I tend to retreat, get quiet, and work through it. But the gloom of the economy--particularly among my academic and house-poor friends--makes many of them search for cheer with meals out, weekends away, and other "treats" that make things tougher in the longer-term.

Tonight--after a 10-week term off, my evening classes begin again. I can't say I'm excited, but the cash infusion looks satisfying.

3 Responses to “Flurried and Flurries”

  1. ceejay74 Says:
    1330982821

    Wow, that's a lotta dairy for one little kid! I'm glad you and your daughter got something constructive out of the experience (your lecture). I don't think I would've bought a second ice cream treat for that little girl, but I'm sure she loved it! Smile As a new mom I'm only just beginning to notice how different people's kids act around non-family and in public situations. I try not to judge, because even my little angel occasionally acts up when I least expect her to. But it does make me wonder sometimes when people don't react to misbehavior, if they're just trying to be laid-back in public but are actually embarrassed about it, or whether they don't consider it misbehaving.

    In your kid's friend's case, she may have been pushing boundaries and her parents may not be aware of her behavior; hard to tell since they weren't there to react.

    I too find it weird to be doing so well in the recession, compared with a lot of my friends!

  2. frugaltexan75 Says:
    1331001589

    Maybe DDs friend is in a growth spurt?? Although I still can't imagine as a child asking a friends parent to buy me all that food ... My parents would've had my hide!

  3. My English Castle Says:
    1331091237

    I do think DD's friend was pushing the limits. She has twin sisters tat get a lot of attention, and she really likes to come to our house. During DD's party she spent half the time with me in the kitchen dipping strawberries and just chatting. But we were out with another little girl about a year ago who asked if we'd stop at McDonald's and buy her a very specific meal with a shake. I was really taken aback.

    Who knows what goes on? And I wonder what my kid says....

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