Enough May Be Enough

You know how sometimes you count the hours until work's over and you can go home? I haven't been doing that much lately. Mostly it's because a little while after we all get home we head to the park for Elizabeth's makeshift Girl Scout cookie booth. And it's always a rip-roaring good time.

It's really not that bad. I mean, I just sit there and read, Elizabeth does her homework, and Matthew plays on the playground. Customers come and go, and she usually sells about twenty boxes in the hour and a half we're out there. A huge plus is watching Elizabeth take pride in her little business, interact with her customers, and celebrate each sale. She's learned a lot and been able to taken advantage of several opportunities available to her from the proceeds. She's had some fantastic experiences and has the memories to prove it.

However, there are moments when I wonder if it would be better to just pay for whatever she wants to do in Girl Scouts, especially now that the new leaders do things so differently. Cookie season is a drag. It always has been for lots of reasons, but I've found that I've reached the point where I really don't feel sitting out there daily, going to cookie booths, and otherwise bugging everyone we know is worth it anymore.

Then that thought goes beyond cookies, and I realize that this is very likely Elizabeth's last year in Girl Scouts. It's an excellent program, but the troop's new dynamics and direction aren't as much fun to Elizabeth as they used to be. I think it might be more meaningful to both her and me to put this time, money, and ambition towards Mother/Daughter experiences of our choice. And we can do them when we want to do them!

That idea is sounding better and better.