Shopping makes you feel good.

Yesterday evening I took the family to Oktoberfest over in Addison.  Last year when we went our daughter wore the dirndl her mother wore when she was 6 or 7 years old.  Even at 4 she was just barely able to fit into it.  She isn’t at all overweight, but just growing fast.  She was so beautiful in that dress.  We took a picture of her holding the teddy bear in lederhosen we bought her and it is still a favorite photo of not only us but friends and family as well.  This year she rode all of the carnival rides by herself.  The day we went last year was also the day we found out my wife was pregnant.  What a difference a year makes.

While I was watching our son my wife took our daughter to some of the shops there.  While waiting in line our daughter said the strangest thing:

Shopping makes you feel good.

This floored my wife who detests shopping, especially the modern empowerment variety.  Evidently one of the girls at kindergarten has been talking about how her mother takes her shopping every day and how great it is.  My wife did her best to talk her down off this dangerous psychological ledge.  Wouldn’t you rather ride though mud? she asked.  Our daughter processed this for a while, and ultimately agreed (who wouldn’t?).  Still sensing some hesitation, my wife continued;  When you go shopping, all you do is buy a bunch of things you don’t need, and then sell them in a garage sale a few months later.  This sealed the deal.  Our daughter decided she would go back and explain this to the girls in class.  Knowing how these things work, I have a mental image of the girls going home and telling their mothers what our daughter said.  I hope the fathers are present when they do.  It should be good for a laugh at least.

I can’t believe how early this nonsense happens though.  I’m just getting over my 3rd cold in 4 weeks, but I now realize that a virus isn’t the worst form of infection coming back to our home from kindergarten.