With our new chore system has come a lot of questions about allowance. Miriam was the first to bring it up today while she was clearing off the table after dinner.
"Will you give me 55 cents per chore?" she asked Andrew.
"No," he snorted.
"Why not?"
"You have no concept of money," he said.
"Uhhhh... Yes, I do—saving it up!"
"Okay, but that's all you know. How many cents are in a dollar?" he quizzed her.
"Let's see," she hedged. "If you have twenty quarters and seventy pennies..."
"Now you're just making stuff up," Andrew observed.
"Yes, I am," Miriam nodded.
Later while I was helping Rachel do the dishes she brought up the idea of allowance again, but not before learning how to use the sprayer on the kitchen sink.
"What is this thing for?" she asked.
"It's a sprayer," I said.
"How does it work?" she asked, squeezing the trigger.
"Well, you have to turn the water on first," I said.
She turned the water on...but still had her hand on the trigger so ended up soaking herself. It was hilarious, except that it got everything in the kitchen wet, and Rachel had dirty feet so then everything got muddy in addition to just wet. I told her that she needed to clean up that mess now, too, which she was fine with because, "sometimes [she] love[s] cleaning and sometimes [she] hate[s] cleaning and [she] can never figure out when or why; but right now [she] love[s] cleaning, so..."
"When can we have an allowance?" she asked while she was mopping the floor and I was cleaning the stove.
"I don't know," I answered. "Probably when Daddy gets a Real Job."
"He has a job," she said.
"Yes," I said. "But you know what I mean—a Real Job, like one that pays money. We've talked about this before."
"I know, I know," she sighed. "At least we get money in our birthday cards...and we find money on the street sometimes. Hey! It's like the street pays us our allowance!"
Yes, that's exactly what it's like.
"Will you give me 55 cents per chore?" she asked Andrew.
"No," he snorted.
"Why not?"
"You have no concept of money," he said.
"Uhhhh... Yes, I do—saving it up!"
"Okay, but that's all you know. How many cents are in a dollar?" he quizzed her.
"Let's see," she hedged. "If you have twenty quarters and seventy pennies..."
"Now you're just making stuff up," Andrew observed.
"Yes, I am," Miriam nodded.
Later while I was helping Rachel do the dishes she brought up the idea of allowance again, but not before learning how to use the sprayer on the kitchen sink.
"What is this thing for?" she asked.
"It's a sprayer," I said.
"How does it work?" she asked, squeezing the trigger.
"Well, you have to turn the water on first," I said.
She turned the water on...but still had her hand on the trigger so ended up soaking herself. It was hilarious, except that it got everything in the kitchen wet, and Rachel had dirty feet so then everything got muddy in addition to just wet. I told her that she needed to clean up that mess now, too, which she was fine with because, "sometimes [she] love[s] cleaning and sometimes [she] hate[s] cleaning and [she] can never figure out when or why; but right now [she] love[s] cleaning, so..."
"When can we have an allowance?" she asked while she was mopping the floor and I was cleaning the stove.
"I don't know," I answered. "Probably when Daddy gets a Real Job."
"He has a job," she said.
"Yes," I said. "But you know what I mean—a Real Job, like one that pays money. We've talked about this before."
"I know, I know," she sighed. "At least we get money in our birthday cards...and we find money on the street sometimes. Hey! It's like the street pays us our allowance!"
Yes, that's exactly what it's like.
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