Thursday, December 10, 2009

Donald Trump's got competition

Feeding Mark is an endless task; I spend half my days shopping for snacks to keep that child satiated. Everyone says growing boys are always hungry, and if that's the case, Mark is well on his way to becoming a 9-foot-tall man.

I sent him off to school yesterday with two packs of string cheese and instructions to take them to the nurse's office before school (she has a refrigerator in there). He was thrilled to have 24 cheese sticks all to himself.

"How many do you eat at recess?" I asked, curious.

"I eat three," he answered, then added, "And I take a fourth one out to recess for this other kid."

My heart swelled with maternal pride. Four years of relentless chiding to share were finally coming to fruition! I was so proud of my thoughtful little boy.

"Because then I get money!" Mark said.

...and my heart deflated.

"You what?" I asked.

"I get money," he explained. "I sell the extra cheese stick to this kid in my class."

I managed not to ask how much he ripped that kid off for, and instead phrased it in a more delicate manner. "How much does he pay you?" I asked, expecting to hear a price somewhere near a quarter.

"A dollar!" Mark told me gleefully. He rubbed his hands together and cackled--yes, cackled!--at the thought of his impending wealth.

I just sighed. Some days I don't know whether to be proud of his entrepreneurial spirit or worried about his penchant for scamming his fellow stu dents.

1 comment:

Tidepool said...

LOL this one is classic!