But there's a story that I've been itching to share, and it's about my sweet oldest child. I have hesitated to write many stories about him here, because he's getting older (12!). I never want him to feel like I've embarrassed him by my posts, or betrayed his trust - so that's the reason you won't see me mentioning him as much as his siblings. But rest assured, Max has given his permission for me to share this story, and I'm so glad he did!
My last post here was on Valentine's Day, and I had no idea what my boy was up to that day. Adam had just left for London for a week, and when the kids came home from school, there was no mention of Valentine's Day. Maybe 10 days later, a friend happened to casually mention to me that Max had bought flowers for a girl at school on Valentine's Day! I was shocked, and because I'm a little bit of an oversensitive mama (maybe!), I was sad that Max hadn't told me. My next reaction was concern, because how on earth did he pay for these flowers? He hadn't asked me for money, and I knew that the money he had from Christmas and his birthday had long ago been spent. I couldn't imagine how he had gotten the money to pay for these flowers (15 roses, in Angola!), purchased them, given them to a girl, and never uttered a word to me about it.
I imagined all sorts of scenarios. Did he take the money from my purse without asking? Did he borrow the money from a friend? Nothing made sense, and I had an hour to obsess over it before Max got home. By the time he walked in the door, I was a little crazy (maybe!) to get my questions answered. Wouldn't you like to know where a kid gets $40 without his parents knowing, in a foreign country, with no access to relatives, mail, or any other source of cash? I sat him down and demanded the answer. After I let Max know that I had found out about his romantic purchase, he spilled the details.
When we came back from the US this summer, we brought a number of supplies with us. One of the things we brought were a few large boxes of fruit rollups, for the kids to take in their lunch boxes. It seems that my enterprising young son found out that these snacks were in high demand at his school, so he started selling them instead of eating them. Can you guess how many fruit rollups he sold in order to make $40?
Two. Who knew that there was such a market over here for fruit snacks?! If you're planning a trip to Angola, forget packing clothes and shoes - bring some fruit rollups! I know a kid who can turn those snacks into cash for you.
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