The Sprague Lab

There’s some backstory to today’s story. It goes like this: 

A couple of weeks ago:

We were heading to the mall (yes, the day of the famous Burger King Gender Issue), and needed to clean up. The kids had been playing with our loose change (so cute, because I totally used to dump out my parents’ change on their bed and play with it), and I asked them to help me put the coins away. Rowen was so good at helping, I told her she could have the last quarter she put in, and helped her put it in her pocket to buy some candy at the mall. She did. We did. It was so cute. And she was SO happy. :)

Last week: 

We went to the post office, and I spotted a penny on the ground by the car. I said, “Rowen! Pick that up, and I’ll teach you a song.” So she picked it up and in the car I sang “Find a penny, pick it up, and today you’ll have good luck” to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star (because I don’t know if this is a song and I’ve forgotten the tune, or if it’s just a little rhyme that needed to be set to some music). She was so happy, she held that penny the entire time we were out.

Today: 

Rowen was outside on the back deck, and found a penny. She came running in to Jared and said, “Daddy! I found a penny! And here is a song! Find a penny, pick it up, and today you’ll have good luck (sung to a very passable Twinkle Twinkle, by the way, I was very impressed).”

Then she said, “Let’s put the penny in my pocket and we can go buy some candy!” Jared (who actually hasn’t heard either of the two previous stories) just sat there with his mouth open. Rowen does that to people. She kind of takes you unaware sometimes, and you think whoa. where did she come UP with that? Only I knew this time, having been there for the run-up.

He was so enchanted by this little scene that he took her right over to Target and let her “spend” her penny on some candy. All that was left was a negotiation on exactly how many Skittles she could have before bed. (The answer: 3).

What amazes me is her ability to pull these different situations together to decide what the next step is. Clearly, in Rowen’s world, it goes like this: When you pick up a penny you ought to sing a little song, and then put that penny in a pocket and head out to buy some candy with it. That’s just what’s done. 

In other family news, Ele has a full-blown cold. Poor fella. He’s been coughing all day and fairly miserable (Read: clingy). So I had a little Beezer over my shoulder for almost all the time he was awake today. Not something that’s practical for housework, but if it helps him feel better, that’s what matters (and I realized today how heavy he’s getting - my time for being able to do this is growing short, and that makes me a little sad).

Oh, and the microwave arrived on Saturday.  Since then I have made 3 bags of microwave popcorn, defrosted 3 lbs of meat, heated 2 bags of frozen vegetables,  reheated yesterday’s mashed potatoes and corn, and yes. I’m counting. You start to take stuff like this for granted, until you can’t make popcorn. Then you start appreciating the little things in life. :D