Does money buy happiness? Definitely not if you're 5, our 'Sandwich Mom' discovers on one birthday-present-buying expedition.
By TODAY show editor Sara Pines, a.k.a. Sandwich Mom
I took my daughter to buy a gift for her friend’s birthday recently. She turned 5 in January; he turns 5 this week. We were looking at puzzles and art projects, and finally settled in the game aisle. After picking one we both agreed he would enjoy -- with a price north of $30 -- I took it to the cashier, who did a lovely job wrapping it, I must say. Charge it, please.
Later, as we continued our errands, she became entranced by a bug-catching kit at the drug store -- a little plastic cage with netting and three or four implements inside. It was $3.99. I bought it for her. On the way home, she lovingly hung it in a place of honor on the handlebar of her scooter. The minute we got home, she had to open it and inspected all the implements, showing me what they did. She attached one that had a hook to my keys to show me how I could take a bug along with me, if I found one. Each part of the kit was carefully examined and explained: “That’s the magnetiming glass, Mama.”
Then, it was time to go to school. When she heads to school, I head to work and her babysitter picks her up. Usually, they go straight to the park. “But how am I going to be able to use my bug catcher?” she asked. So, we stuffed it in the backpack and went to school. She told everyone we met along the way about the secret stash inside her pack, in conspiratorial tones: “I have a bug catcher!”
I think we’ve gotten our money’s worth already, and the bug catcher hasn’t even been put to the test yet, let alone caught a creepy crawler.
Will the birthday boy who gets the game get 10 times the enjoyment? Hopefully, but her delight -- and mine -- will be hard to beat.
TODAY Moms contributor Sara Pines is an editor at TODAY and has been working with the show in various capacities for 17 years. A native New Yorker, she is the single mom of a beautiful 5-year-old daughter.