Friday, September 17, 2010

Can I have one too?

Okay, so a short and sweet lesson today.

The situation: My eight-year-old son attending a birthday party of a classmate and me running to the store to get a last-minute present.

You know what happened? Well, I did so good on my present selection that I got a toy my son loves...and he has to give it away. It's a tough life lesson! I suspected this would happen and I got an extra little present for both my son and the birthday boy- - a yo-yo. One red and one green so he could choose which to keep and which to give away. That worked for a few minutes. Then he tried it and gave up on after a few tries. His eye was always on the big prize. Nothing too extravagant, but it had Star Wars on the box and it was a heck of a lot better than what he had -- that frustrating yo-yo. (Can't blame him. That yo-yo frustrated me too.)

He was very brave though. And that gave me a mommy moment of all kinds of mixed emotions. Pride in his generosity and sympathy for his dilemma. Life's just not fair sometimes. (Okay, you know I'll fold and get him the Star Trek toy very soon.)

But this is one of those moments when I think...I can use this for a character. It's not so difficult to imagine and it doesn't get a lot easier when we're adults actually. Someone wants something and has to give it away. It's a selfless act with no mommy to fix it or offer a replacement. To see someone else get what we want and either accept it or....what? What do you do? There are lots and lots of possibilities.

6 comments:

  1. What a great way of looking at the situation by turning it around on your writing.

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  2. That's a great thought -- using that insight and emotion for a similar situation you're writing. Thanks for sharing that.

    And you described it so well, *I* was ready to go out and buy your son the toy, because I didn't want him to go through that heartache. LOL

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  3. Thanks, Kelly! Yes, it really stuck with me. Other than buying my son a toy, I'll definitely have to tie with some character to deal with my guilt. LOL I guess it's one of those both sided things where I think it's possible to identify with both not getting what a character wants or being the one (a mommy) who's always a bit helpless to make it right. :)

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  4. Donna, I know! He's really a great sharer. Such a great kid. Ah hem! I can almost forget the note I received in the mail from school on him getting sent to the office earlier this week for distracting other students...nobody's perfect. He was probably sharing, right? LOL

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  5. Love this post. Had an issue with my son today and had to stick to my guns. I know your pain. Funny that you said this because I too had a thought to use my situation for a story. Very cool. Thanks.

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  6. Mina, hello! Yes, the situations with kids are a goldmine of opportunities. I'm not really thinking so at the time, though. Really! LOL Oh, and I realize I mixed up Star Wars and Star Trek. That would be my next goof...to get the wrong toy. Moms got it rough, right? LOL

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