I drop and pick my son up from school, because I like it and it is a very comfortable and convenient habit – for me. Most days, on the way back from school in the morning, I stop at our favorite shop which is a bakery-mini grocery store-fruit shop and condiments all rolled into one. After thirteen years of being a regular at this shop, ever since we moved into this area, the store guy still manages to surprise me with his inventory. And of course, I love to overhear the kids’ conversations around me.
I usually park my scooter outside the shop and survey the new arrivals on the sidewalk before I walk in and exchange pleasantries before buying what I need. During this lovely tete-a-tete I have the pleasure of overhearing the conversations of other “customers”. Most of these, at 8.30 am are school kids or grandparents with children.
Being a big one for enjoying the little things in life, I want to share today’s joy with you:
Enter, Grandpa and four year old little boy.
Boy: Lollipop!
Grandpa: Wait. (asks the storekeeper for bread, etc.)
Boy: (Tugging at grandpa’s shirt) Lollipop!
Grandpa: Wait (busy counting out change for the payment)
Boy: (Jumping up and down) LOLLIPOP!
Grandpa grabs him up and brings him eye-level to the counter and kid instantly points at the jar with the lollipop and says: LOLLIPOP!
Grandpa: But you have some at home
Kid: I want now
Grandpa: Will you bring this home and eat?
Kid: NO
Grandpa: Then?
Kid: Eat now.
Grandpa: Then I won’t give you the one at home today.
Kid: Ok. Now. Lollipop here.
Grandpa looks at my amused face (of course I’ve been there many times and done it more times than I can remember) and laughing, asks the store guy for the chocolate lollipop and hands it to the little guy and asks: Shall I open it?
Kid: No.
Grandpa: But you said you want to eat it now
Kid: No. Go home.
Grandpa: You could have had the one we have at home, then
Kid: No. This chocolate. That not.
Grandpa: (he’s a good-humored guy, he is – and bursts out laughing). Ok, ok.
Then the both of them wander off, hand in hand, talking..
Only kids have the power to be consistent with their “No”. And it always amazes me how they get by with ten words in their entire vocabulary!
Realizing I too had to shop, I asked the store guy for what I wanted. As he gathered the items, a schoolgirl, about ten years old, walked in.
She: Give me the five rupees Cadbury chocolate and five rupees Lays chips
He tears off a Lays pack and adds the Cadbury to it.
She: No I want a different flavor of Lays
He asks her which one and tears that off.
She: Um….I don’t want the chocolate. Give me the ten rupees Lays
He gives it to her
She, a look of deep dilemma on her face and rummaging in her tiny purse for money, hands over a crumpled ten rupee note
He: (holding the tip of the note and waving it) this note is not valid (of course he is joking – but he’s not sure if it won’t fall to pieces in his money box or decompose. Paper is biodegradable, right?!)
She: I don’t have anything else
He: Ok, next time bring a fresher note.
She: Ok thanks (she grabs the five rupee Lays and five rupee chocolate, forgetting she asked for the ten rupee Lays and rushes out to meet her friends).
He and I both look at each other and burst out laughing, of course.
Hmm…lucky I didn’t forget what I went there for, what with all the eavesdropping I was busy with. I carry a list you see. Those chips may be tempting – but….
Have a wonderful weekend, folks! As for me, I am going to be busting my a** – working it off like crazy.
19 comments
Shopping with children is always an adventure!
Yes, so enjoyable, Betsy! 😀
What a fun post. Now I want a chocolate lolli too. 😉
I see you listed my FF post as a fun recent read. TYVM, I feel honored!
😀 I got one today, Keetha. Weirdly tempting! Your FF post was a treat!
Those are great stories. Children can be very clear about what they want. When my daughter was in middle school, I let her decorate her room however she wanted. She wanted to paint it with green and pink stripes. Okay. I took her paint shopping. It had to be just the right green and just the right pink. I was tired of shopping and tried to convince her that the green and pink we were looking at was fine. NO (said politely). We finally found what she was looking for. She and her friend painted all weekend. I have to admit that her choices were indeed perfect, and those green and pink stripes delighted me for years.
Ooh Galen! I remember when Vidur was 5, our walls were decorated with his crayon drawings. Some of it drove me nuts because, typically, all I could think of was how to get it off. 😀 Then (selective reception) he began to notice paint ads on TV. And fancied the room he played in with strawberry pink walls. I negotiated and got the milkshake shade. Once this room got done, he was on a roll. He wanted his Grandma’s room to be yellow. I obliged. (Yep, I did it myself – I am big on DIY). Then, he suggested red for our bedroom, which had ivory walls. I drew the line there. He asked, very sweetly, if the living room could be blue. I said no. (I know…what a meanie!) It was pistachio green. I painted it ivory too. Suddenly the house looked so different without the crayon artwork!
To this day, (Vidur is 14) we have the yellow and pink room. I might refresh the yellow – its the perfect shade (picked by him) for that room. Not so sure about keeping the pink. 😀
But it is such fun playing with paint, especially with a pint-sized kid trying to wield that roller! More paint on him than the patch of wall!
So glad you came by, Galen!
It is so much fun goin shopping with children. I have a nephew and niece and it is so much fun to see how much they manage to convince you; no matter what!
You’re right, Hajra. They’re very sure of what they want and do not stop until they get it! (most of the time!) Thank you for coming by!
Ah sweet Vidya, you’ve touched on one of my very favorite pastimes…eavesdropping.
Well, er, let me explain. I really mean “people watching”. If the people happen to be carrying on interesting/amusing conversation, then all the better! I love taking my notebook PC to Starbucks, ordering a yummy double vanilla latte, and finding a table in the middle of the action, from which I can people watch and maybe eavesdrop. Oh, while I’m doing this, of course, I pretend to be busy on my laptop. And sometimes I am. But I can multi-task when the occasion calls for it. Great fun! People amaze and entertain me with their accounts of their everyday lives. And little kids are a delight. They say such fun things.
Of course, when they throw a hissy-fit on their Moms, I calmly pack up my things and leave.
Loved the post Vidya! XOXOs
I can just visualize you doing that, Terri! What a pleasant vision that is! Hugs! Thank you for sharing this, I am loving the sight!
It’s always been an adventure for me Vidya!
Kids can be really funny and adamant at times! I remember the time when they were crazy for chips and chocolates and how we had to put a stop to their daily demands for the same.
But I’m glad they got through that phase with ease and now don’t touch either of the two – I think they had their fill and are more weight conscious now. 🙂
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
🙂 The joy of growing up, Harleena! Thank you so much for coming by and commenting!
My Dear Zen Teacher,
—Lovely stories by a glorious observer.
… you make my heart leap everytime I read your words.
Many kisses from Minnesota xxx
Thank you, Kim! Hugs back!
Thanks for eavesdropping! This post warms my heart.
🙂 Glad you enjoyed it, Stasha! Thank you for visting!
Wonderful post, with a story that anyone with children (no matter what age) can related to! Funny and heartwearming, too! Loved this one, Vidya!
Thank you, Janet. 🙂 Always sweet to listen in on children!
[…] seems nothing they don’t stock. This is the store I was talking about in the conversation I overhead. It seems to me this guy barely looks older in the last twelve years I have shopped at his store. […]