1 Mother 2 Another

In our continuing efforts to Get Maddie
Ready For School, we recently went shopping for a couple more items
– the school bag, and the nap mat. And if you’ll
recall, I’d already stated my determination to stand fast and
refuse to buy a Disney bag. Was I successful?


Ish.

Out of the blue, Maddie’s begun to
dig Tinkerbell. I don’t know what it is: she’s never
seen the movie, and though she listens to Disney songs on her iPod,
Tinkerbell’s a freakin’ mute, so it’s not like
there’s a Tinkerbell solo song that Maddie really loves. But
for whatever reason, she’s begun shouting,
“Tinkerbell!” any time she sees the pixie, and spent
the entire shopping trip torn between Ariel crap and Tinkerbell
crap.


We hit a couple of stores, and at the first one Maddie discovered a
Tinkerbell lunch bag. This bag was not ok for two reasons: first,
the Disney thing. Like they’re not rich enough. Second,
Maddie already has a very nice, sturdy, made-in-the-USA lunchbag
decorated with butterflies. Which she uses often and loves. But
Maddie begged and begged that she REALLY needed a SPECIAL lunch bag
JUST FOR SCHOOL, so I took a closer look.


The bag was so poorly made I couldn’t let her buy it, but I
did go so far as to tell her we’d look at other lunch bags at
another store, and if she didn’t find anything she liked
there we’d come back for this one. And hope that it was sold
out by the time we got back.


I kid. A little.


At the second store, we hit a bit of a jackpot. There was a
Tinkerbell bag, a Tinkerbell lunch bag, and a Tinkerbell lunch tote
(don’t ask the difference, it’s not worth talking
about). At the same time, I spied a plain school bag that met all
of Maddie’s other requirements: the right size for her
folder, a separate place just for her Silky, and lots of pockets
for heretofore unknown stuff.


By dint of much wheedling and persuasion on my part and some
impressive negotiating on Maddie’s, we hammered out a
compromise: we’d buy the plain purple bag, and the
(unnecessary) Tinkerbell lunch tote (yes, tote). I’d feared
I’d lost her and would have to capitulate completely until I
pointed out that the bag matched the color of Maddie’s class
–she’s officially in the Purple Room. Thank heavens my
daughter’s need to coordinate won out.


So at least I’ve got a (marginally) better quality bag, and
we found a nap mat as well. I think we’re all set, except for
all the emotional stuff I’m choosing to ignore for right now.


Shopping’s over, and the score is Mommy one, Disney one.


It could be worse.