There are moments in life that simply make me laugh because they are so unbelievable. Here is one of those moments.
A friend of mine had a birthday party at chuck e cheese for her son, who is a friend of both my boys. The entire party was fun to watch. The kids were so totally excited by the magical atmosphere of kid friendly FUN! I had to recall how I felt in a chuck e cheese as a child, something I seriously only experienced possibly twice because we never did stuff like that. I remember it being HUGE. A place where lights flashed, enormous swings moved high into the air, and limitless FUN was to be had in all directions. :) I can remember the sheer joy of winning a ticket and the oh so memorable moment of getting to pick out a prize form the ticket redemption station!
This evening I had to laugh at myself as I stood in the line waiting to retrieve the prizes my sons so diligently earned by turning in their tickets. Oh the prizes. Only glass (and a few zillion tickets) separate two little eyes from hundreds of tiny golden prizes... candy, plastic teeth, bouncy balls...
My kids see jewels, treasures... I see junk, plastic, and chocking hazards.
So, here we are standing at the prize desk at the end of a long day, noses flattened against the glass display cabinet, and decisions to be made. The evening is over, which in and of itself is traumatizing for two boys - aged 4,5 - who would live at chuck e cheese if they were able. Seriously, who wouldn't? But here we are at closing time, and we need to choose a prize.
My voice initially is calm and sweet, "OK guys lets pick a prize!"
"I want that one mommy!!" My youngest points to a plastic shooter type toy that resembles a gun of sorts.
"No sweetie, you can only pick one from the red box or two things from the green box." I say quietly as I turn to see a line forming behind us of eager kids ready to take home the golden goose.
silence...
"Benjamin, you want to go first? What do you want to choose?" I say with patience.
"I want that one." Pointing to the big stupid stuffed animal that looms mysteriously and oh so inviting above our heads.
(sigh) "Wow, that looks awesome, but it cost 2,000 tickets and you have 50 so you can choose one from this red box or two from the green box."
"I want the vampire teeth please." says my oldest.
Great I think. We are moving along.
"No, I want that HUGE ball in the corner."
"I would love to get you that ball hunny, but it cost 4,500 tickets and you have 50 so you cant have that this time. Maybe we should hold your tickets and save them til you get 4,500?" (knowing that would never happen... either the waiting or the saving up to 4,500.... but a mom can dream of avoiding the prize desk altogether, right?)
As you can imagine, this continues FOREVER!! They don't quite understand that they are limited in their prize selection.
After what seems like 20 minutes I really want to scream.... "PICK A STINKING PRIZE SO WE CAN GO HOME! THEY WILL ALL BREAK AND END UP IN THE BACK SEAT OF THE CAR, UNDER MY BED, OR SCATTERED ALL OVER YOUR ROOM ANYWAY SOOOO....
....JUST PICK A PRIZE!!!!!!'
I love parenting. It is THE greatest job on the earth! :)
1 comment:
I could not laugh enough with this story!!! hahahaha, So I have to ask? Why did they pick? My girls are like you when you were a kid. They dream of going to chukecheese but we only take them when they are invited to a B-day party. But after reading your post, I might take them more frequently. I did not know kids like this place so much!
Post a Comment