The State (un)Fair

I went to the Indiana State Fair today. The weather was perfect, a beautiful, partly cloudy 84 degrees or so. Grandma and I took the kids and she invited the 8 year old of a coworker. And if you don’t already know this, the game completely changes when the children outnumber the adults. One-on-one play just went out the window with the inclusion of a third child – I prepared myself to have to work in zones.

Across the street from the fairgrounds, behind the fairgrounds actually, is a residential neighborhood, mostly Black. These people ain’t stupid – they were charging $5 per car to park on their front lawns. I mean EVERY house was doing this. I parked there; after all, it was cheaper than the state fair parking and actually SO much closer to all the action. But I would be lying if I didn’t take every last thing of value with me.

At any rate, this child is a spoiled brat. By the time we dropped well over $100 on rides and games, I started to wind it down. She said she wanted to play one more game and I said we were done. This 8 year old responded by saying that she saw her father give us money and she wanted to use it now. Grandma gave her $10 and I told her she was crazy. Grandma’s reasoning is that since she invited she should take care of her. My response was the same: “You crazy.”

But the real reason for this post is that I want to acknowledge that I do indeed spoil my kids. I admit it. But simultaneously, I discipline them and refuse to allow them to be bratty. They are NOT spoiled brats. For instance, this child (who is White, by the way) told my daughter that she has a Nintendo DS. My daughter has been asking for one for at least 6 months, to no avail. My daughter, suddenly excited about having a discussion about a DS (it’s by far her favorite topic) asks this girl, “did you have to earn it?”

The quizzical look on this child’s face said it all. My daughter says, “you know what I mean – EARN it.” She shakes her head. My daughter says, “Grandma, will you tell her what I have to do to get a DS?” Grandma says, “no, you tell her.”

“I have to get straight A’s”

Yes, folks – my daughter is in first grade and she can have a Nintendo DS for Christmas this year if and ONLY if she does perfectly in school. Yet, the 8 year old in second grade has no idea what it means to “earn” something.

But it gets better – her dad gets here to pick up the spoiled brat. And she starts screaming at her dad, “daddy, can I sleep over! Daddy, please!” And I’m in the room like – WTF! I call out to my daughter, because this should have been discussed with me first. However, by this point, this man is in the foyer considering it. And quite frankly, I don’t blame him one fucking bit.

So, I just got punked by a 6 and 8 year old. Not to be outdone, though, I asked dad if there was anything his daughter couldn’t eat. “No, she can eat anything … well, except rat poison.”

JACK: “Oh, don’t worry – that’s only for when the kids won’t go to sleep by midnight.”

Amazingly, he STILL let his daughter spend the night. I must say I’m impressed with his ability to keep up. He said, “well, I guess it’s a good thing it’s just a blood thinner.”

JACK: “Well, I see you know a whole lot more about rat poison than I do.”

OTHER DAD: “It doesn’t really poison them, it just thins their blood to the point that the heart can’t pump it.”

I think dad punked me too. At that point, I thought it best I keep his child.