This past weekend, your Mom went back to Indiana to help Popa get more things sorted and organized, which gave us an opportunity to show Mom that we could function, albeit for a short time, without relying on her. How long could we hold our breath underwater?
Functioning without Mom is challenging enough, we were also sick. You have had a dry cough for weeks now, and Eliza has a stuffy nose and crunchy cough. I came down with the seasonal flu that included fever, chills, headaches and a cough. Good times.
Despite the sickness, I took the weekend to make sure we had a “house reset” to help keep the house orderly and raise the stakes for your and Eliza’s contributions. We established a new set of chores and a weekly payday on Mondays of $5 each. The daily chores: Tidy your room, tidy the house, brush teeth, dishes to sink, and clean your bathroom. We also created a new “laundry game” to help put away clean clothes, which is a race to see who can put the most clothes away first.
Because we established the new chore schedule over the weekend, I gave you a “starting bonus” of $6 each because you completed the initial chores and some bonus work. Eliza vaccumed and you enthusiastically cleaned the litter box. We agreed that after school on Monday I would pay you and we could do a little shopping.
After counting out the $1 bills, I encouraged you both to save at least half of your payday for something bigger down the road, and that’s where you and Eliza showed your colors. Eliza cautiously counted and put away $3 in her room and and kept $3 in a purse to shop with. You insisted on buying a pack of Pokemon cards immediatey for $5.49 with tax. You asked me that Monday morning to go shopping for you during school, but I wanted you both to have transactions at the register. I’m glad I didn’t shop for you because you came off the bus nervous I had shopped and bought the wrong pack of cards. Heaven forbid.
We went to Bartell’s after school and you stuck to your plan, immediately jogging toward the locked case of cards and working with a cashier to get the card pack you wanted. Eliza bought a $2 bag of gummy candy. You paid cash at the register, and I had to explain a bit about taxes and how coins were fractions of a dollar that surely went over your head. All that added up for you was that chores got you more Pokemon cards. I can’t be mad about your motivations.
After opening the pack of cards, you were happy with the contents, and Eliza shared some of her gummies with you on the ride home. Neither of you had buyer’s remorse and were focused on how to get more money to buy more next week. Back to the chore chart.
I’ll keep working with you on saving money. Bigger things than Pokemon cards come to those who save.
Love, Dad