The Prodigal Daughter Returns

First, a quick Kydanism:

Me: "Kydan, use your brain!"
Kydan: "Mommy, of course I use my brain. If I didn't I would be dead."
Me: "What do you think you need your brain for?"
Kydan: : "Talking. And battles."

So there is this crazy fad going on with kids of all ages. If you have kids over the age of 4, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Silly Bands. I've seen them when I volunteer in my kindergartner's class, I've seen them when I volunteer in my second grader's class, and I've seen them on teenagers. I've seen them on boys and girls. What the heck? I consider myself a pretty smart person- I have a college degree (Medieval Literature, a very common field to have a degree in) I graduated Magna Cum Laude from a great school in Virginia, and I'm pretty up to date on the current styles. (That last statement was a complete lie.) How was I not the one who invented colored rubber bands that take on different shapes? And I just found out today that there are some that actually smell like things. (However, I did smell one that was supposed to smell like chocolate and it smelled suspiciously like an 8 year old's sweaty arm.)

For the last week I was telling myself that I would NEVER buy these silly bands, and my kids never asked me for them. Which is why I bought them. They were so HAPPY! I went to a Hallmark store and the place was dead, except for one small table, which had about 13 kids digging through a bin of these bands. Kydan ended up getting zoo animals and Tommy got sea animals.

They come 12 to a pack. Both boys went to school with all 12. Kydan came home with one. He said that he gave them to friends that didn't have any silly bands. 11 friends. I am ashamed to say that I was mad at him. I didn't let him know- I told him how sweet he is to give all of his bands away, but inside I was furious. I spend the money and I bought them for MY kids, not someone else's kids. I gave them to him because I wanted him to be happy, and then he just gives them away!!

Then I realized that he just did the exact same thing I did. He gave them to his friends because he wanted them to be happy. I'm pretty sure that is the only reason he wanted them in the first place. He told me he only needed one, and now 11 of his friends have one, too. Once again, my kids have taught me a lesson that I would do well to repeat.

It's raining now, which is bittersweet. Tommy's baseball is going to be cancelled, which is good because it was about 485 degrees outside and I didn't feel like sitting in the heat for 2 hours, but I won't get to see him pitch, which is one of the greatest joys of my life. Luckily, I'm also a big fan of sleep, so maybe I'll just go to bed early.