The Gift

The boys came home from school on Monday excitedly waving a white piece of paper. Turns out the 3rd grade classes were holding a white elephant sale (code for "junk sale") ALL WEEK to raise money for a field trip or something. My boys have their own little stash of spending money, so I let them each take a couple of dollars. Of course, I also gave them a lecture about spending money wisely and not buying something just because you can. Classic "Mom" lecture.

The following day Danny came home with nothing. He had carefully inspected each item for sale and decided nothing was worth his hard earned cash.

Caleb came home with a stuffed monkey, a clone trooper bobble head At-At walker (Star Wars fans, did you get that?), and a plastic ninja turtle (I think we sold one just like it at our last garage sale). He spent about $0.50.

But Caleb kept his money in his bag because they were putting new items out every day! And, oh yes, the kindergarten class got to go to the sale every day. And on Thursday, he came home with a real treasure.

He pulled out a box with 9 items that looked like mock sea shells. Not a great use of the $1 they cost, but no big deal. Then he handed them to me and said, "Here, Mom, I bought these for you because you deserve them." And so, touched by my little boy's generosity (a dollar is a lot to a little kid) I took my gift.

Turns out they weren't mock sea shells. They were smelly, floating candle sea shells. And they smelled like really cheap mens' cologne. Smelly, floaty, cheap mens' cologne candles that my 5 year old bought........for me.

"Hey," I said, "Let's try these out!" And so I lit all of the candles and set them afloat in the bathtub....almost gagging at the smell.....with the exhaust fan on high, of course......and it stunk up the house.....and Caleb and Sophie watched those candles burn for a good 15 minutes! Then we "forgot" about them and they probably burnt for close to an hour.

Unfortunately, they didn't burn as quickly as I had hoped. Still plenty of wear in them. I put them all in a ziplock under the bathroom sink, but I could still smell them, so they now occupy a special place on the shelf in the garage......just in case Caleb asks me if I want to burn them again. :)

I love my Caleb. A scrub brush for Christmas, a half written card for my birthday (I think he got tired out), smelly candles because I deserve them. Gifts only a mother could love.