Cowgirl Abby

By 7:30 this morning we were ready - ready for a couple of Abby's buddies to descend upon us for a day of rollicking play....but then we got the call that one of them had gotten sick. Abby was disappointed, but she was more worried about her friend. Having been there a time or two, she knows that it is no fun to be sick.

Hoping to lift her spirits (and give us something to do), Jason suggested we take a little trip to the toy store. Around lunch time I proposed the trip to Abby and she jumped at the opportunity. The first words out of her mouth were, "Where's my money?"

Last night, after she'd gotten her allowance, she promptly "hid" it in her bedroom. And so, she ran right to the spot and got her dollar. She didn't let go of that dollar the whole time we got ready and drove to the store.

Luckily, Jason was in the neighborhood, so he was able to come too. Oh, she was fun to watch in that store. She went with the idea that she would get a dollie, and I figured that she would be heading right in that direction once we walked in the door, but she got stuck right off the bat. There were Christmas decorations to look at, and a whole case of umbrellas, but it was the brooms that really caught her eye. She grabbed one and demonstrated her technique, all the while talking about how she would clean the kitchen. Jason made the remark that she now knew how to get more moo-la, so it made sense that she would find something that would help her with her chores - and keep her pockets lined.

It was when she saw the dress-up clothes, though that all of her good intentions went out the window. She tried on hats and looked at dresses, but fell in love with the cowboy outfit. Once she had that she told us, "Nope, no more dollies - cowgirl outfit!"

Having made her choice we were on to the counter. She paid her dollar and Daddy generously fronted her the rest of the money. As we walked to the car she had to show everyone what she'd gotten. I felt kind of bad for the guy trying to get in the store - she wouldn't let him in until he'd shown a proper appreciation for her first purchase.

Since the original plan was to take Abby and her friends out to lunch, I even offered to get her a pizza to take home, but she didn't want any of that. She only wanted to get home as soon as she could, so she could get that costume on.

So now we have another occupation to add to Abby's list - she told me this afternoon, in no uncertain terms, that she wanted to be a cowboy when she grew up. And that is that!

Abby paid her dollar, but on the way home asked, "Where'd
my dollar go?"  We had to explain that this was how things
worked. If she wanted something at a store, she had to give up her
dollars. Welcome to the world, Kiddo!

Seems it was a fair trade. One dollar = one item...right?

There's a new sheriff in town.

"Well, howdy, Pardner! What brings you to town?"