Matter of Perspective

Caden has been obsessed with money lately. He had been on a mission to earn half the value of a Nintendo DS.....though now he says he only wants to buy Webkinz. He has been hounding Tim and I for ways that he can earn money. He is like an elephant....he never forgets. I did tell him that we could go on walks and he could collect cans for money. He lit up like a firework when he realized that they were worth a big woppin' 5 cents a piece.

So, during this discussion about collecting cans, he wanted to know the method of acquiring the money that they are worth. Every time we go to Costco, he has been eyeing the Can-Do machines. Tonight, as we loaded the kids up to go to Costco, we noticed that Caden had each pocket, and each hand stuffed with pop cans to turn into the Can-Do machines. I rolled my eyes at him as I told him that he only had 20 cents there. After Daria realized what Caden was going to do, she ran into the house and came back with her arms overflowing with pop cans.

Goodness gracious!

On the way to Costco, the kids began tallying their booty. I could hear them in the backseat talking about how they were going to divvy up the money. (At one point, I heard that they were going to give Luke one cent. How generous!)

So, here we are on our trip to Costco, the kids holding about .45 worth of cans. (How embarrassing that is to turn in! ) The kids are beyond excited to turn in their cans. They decided that Daria would do 4 cans....Caden four cans...and Luke got one. Daria was pretty thrilled to get her little receipt worth .20. Caden threw his cans into the machine, and was so excited waiting for his receipt to be printed out. One can was rejected because it was an Albertson's brand can.....thus he only received .15. The melt-down that ensued because he refused to understand why only 3 of his cans were accepted was a sight to behold! Life is so not fair!!! That boy can rival any girl in the area of Drama.

Then, there was Luke. He pops his one single, lonely, little can into the machine. He is just about beside himself, bursting with excitement, dancing around while he waited for the machine to spit out his receipt. Finally, he has that precious ticket clasped in his little hands. He clutches it tightly with both hands, and he begins to jump up and down as he squeals: "I won! I won!"

It was an amazing contrast for me to ponder. The fun and excitement of a new experience was completely lost on Caden. Instead of being happy for the 15 cents he did have, all he could dwell on was the lost 5 cents of the rejected can. Then there was Luke. Completely oblivious about the true value of his ticket, but just thrilled beyond words that he had a ticket at all. In my opinion, he really did win. He experienced the whole thrill of the new experience all the way to its fullness.

Takes me to task. Should I whine about the lost five cents, or glory in the 15 cents I now have in my pocket? How often do I do that very thing? Grumble about what is lost and can't be regained, or being thankful for what I already have?

What did I do with that toothpick?