Saving Up

Ethan saw a few toys a while back that he just had to have. Gram had sent him a few dollars in the mail and he'd saved them up to buy a golf set. It was a good experience and good motivation to actually save his money and not spend it dollar by dollar on little cars.

After he bought the golf set he was set on a dragon toy he'd seen from the How To Train Your Dragon Movie. He loves the movie, the action figures he bought before and plays viking just about every day.

He got in his mind how much the dragon cost and kept track of how many dollars Gram had sent him. One day Aunt Amy stopped by and gave the kids a dollar in lieu of a treat. Ethan's eyes sparkled as he told her he was saving up for a toy.

For the next few weeks every time he saw Aunt Amy she gave him a dollar and he quickly reported on how many dollars he still needed.

The day finally came last week when he'd collected the exact number of dollars and was eager to go shopping. I was hoping the toy would still be available!

At the first store the dragon was gone...no display, no price tag or place on the shelf remaining. I prepped Ethan for disappointment and we started to talk about what he would do if the beloved dragon was not to be found.

He quickly answered we could simply go to another Wal Mart and search their shelves. So after much persuasion we drove past our exit and on to the next Wal Mart...groceries in the back of the car and Avery desperate for a nap.

We scoured the shelves and weren't seeing any signs of the dragon. I started to prepare myself for the crying that was sure to follow.

Much to our surprise, luck, and fortune, on the last shelf we found one lone Night Fury Dragon hidden behind a few other toys. It wasn't the dragon Ethan had saved for, but I thought it was better. We were thrilled to find out it was the same price as the saved for dragon. Ethan practically ran to the check out line.

He loves his dragon, but makes sure that everyone knows it wasn't the one he'd wanted, but that it is fun anyway.

Thanks Gram and Aunt Amy for the dollars, toy, lesson learned, and the memories!