Well, it was no contest. I slashed and swung, lifted and dumped, shovel after shovel of that insolent slush, unrepentant at the cries of the victims that wanted nothing more than to last a few more hours before the sun melted them into dirty water.
"NO!" I said. "You're not going to get the chance to refreeze tonight, you nasty crystals!"
Little did I know they would have the last laugh, as after my heroic battle it was all I could do to stand up straight, my back aching from bending over, straightening up, bending over, again, again, and again! Even now, as I sit poised over my laptop writing these words, I know that when I go to stand the room will be filled with the sound of grunts and groans until I find myself upright.
Sunday afternoon, one of the days we retire to Starbucks to sip and read, finally came. We had our friend with us, so the standard order was expanded to three lattes, and three snacks. When the young lady told me how much, I kind of wondered if she had charged us for all of the drinks. She assured me she had, so I let it go, still thinking the bill was a tad too low.
Well, as things turned out, our friend drank his first latte and wanted another. This is an obvious sign of a non-trained latte sipper, one who is able to nurse a single drink for several hours. When I went to the counter to order, the young lady looked at me and said...
"You were right. I didn't charge you for all three drinks. I wasn't going to tell you because I'm supposed to be good with money. At least my money, what with, you know, budgets and things. But, then I thought, well, if I don't say something, the next time you come in you might wonder why your bill was higher than this time, so I decided to tell you."
"No problem," I replied, smug in the knowledge that for one of the few times in my life I was right! I have to keep track of those times, as there are not many of them.
"I should be more careful," she said. "I have enough trouble with my budget, what with paying bills, and what not. When you grow up and mom and dad take care of everything, you're not aware that things cost so much. Why don't parents tell you things are so expensive?"
"Because if they did, you wouldn't leave home," I replied.
"I wonder if people who have a rougher time growing up have a better understanding of how tough it is on your own?"
"They probably do."
"Well, I think schools are letting us down as well. They should teach us that things are not as they seem to be, and that it's not cheap living on your own while going to school."
Fortunately, everything turned out okay. She said she charged me for a Grande instead of the Tall Latte I ordered to make up a bit for the one she missed. That way, she didn't have to charge me for two drinks, but still recouped a bit of the expense.
I found it interesting that she said what she did about wondering why mom and dad don't tell their offspring what life is like, money wise. I thought, well, we tried, and what good did it do us? The only people our sons listened to were people outside of their mom and dad. I guess maybe we should have secretly hired a life tutor to go over all those things as they grew up.
I remember when our oldest son was getting close to wanting his driver's license. I told him he better take Driver's Ed in school. Of course, that took the road less traveled, speeding right through the tunnel between one ear and the other, and out the other side.
Then came summer, and the plea, "Can I take Driver's Ed this summer?"
"It costs $130, and since I told you to take it in school where it was free, I'm not paying for it. You'll just have to wait until next year."
Telling a teenager that they have to wait to get their driver's license is just not what they want to hear, and will go to incredible lengths to prevent it.
"What if I get a job and pay for it myself?"
"That's up to you," I replied.
Next thing I know, he comes home and announces he has secured a position at Burger King. Guess who had to take him to work and pick him up at 3am when he got off? Right. Yours truly!
Well, he works long enough to save up $130, and then quits. Boy, he learned a lot with that attempt to teach him the value of money, and working for what you want, I thought.
Moral of the story is: No matter what you try to teach your children, you will end up paying in some way, no matter what it is. For him? Well, he took the driving class, got his license, and we then faced the next hurdle... what was he going to drive? Stay tuned. If I stop grinding my teeth as I think about it, I'll write more some other day... The good part is, he actually trains police officers how to drive now! Wonder if their parents pay for that course...
