sometimes life just hands you two purple gumballs in a row
Drove to the “car store” (i.e. Advance Auto) earlier with Luke. I had to recycle a couple of containers of used oil from the cars’ oil changes this weekend, something Luke loves to observe (the pouring of the oil into the tank in the back of the store is a big draw). He also knows that when we go to the car store and he has a good attitude, he gets a quarter to put into one of the candy machines at the front of the store.
He was happy as a clam the whole time, as usual, and then came time to get the candy. I gave him the quarter, he danced around excitedly as he decided which machine to deposit his hard-earned quarter in. He chose a gumball over the Runts, put the quarter in the slot and turned the knob. Out came a purple gumball. He was happy with it and started eating it as we walked to the car. But about halfway to the car, he decided it was “shoowie” (our family word for yucky or dirty). He got agitated as he tried to wipe the taste off his tongue, and he handed me the remains of the gumball. I threw them on the ground (out of his sight), calmed him down and strapped him in the car. But I remembered I had another quarter in my pocket, and after explaining to Luke very clearly it was the ONLY time I would do this, we returned to the store and repeated the candy selection ritual. He decided to give the gumball machine another try, put in his quarter, and turned the knob. I had a premonition, and it proved true–another purple gumball. His face fell, he said, “No thank you” in his way and tried to push it back up the chute. I felt his disappointment but kept the gumball, explaining to him that sometimes these things happen and it’s okay, and that he hadn’t done anything wrong.
We returned to the car and I put him in his car seat. He asked for the gumball and I gave it to him, ready for another minor crisis. We drove the long way home with the sunroof open and to my surprise, he ate most of it, determined to consume his candy even if he didn’t like it.
Great story. Reminds me of me sometimes… :)
We’re all just kids at heart.
John D.