Horse had her last beginner tween swim lesson today. She came home looking quite deflated, and showed me her course completion paper that stated she was recommended to go into another beginner tween swim class. She looked quite upset that her swim instructor wanted her to repeat the course.
First of all, we do not have a pool in which she can practice her lessons. Secondly, we do not pay to go to a community pool because three kidlets who cannot swim who are being monitored by one or two parents (one of whom refuses to get into a bathing suit until suits from the early 1900s come back into style) just does not work in a more crowded, chaotic environment. Thirdly, I do not care how many times she has to repeat the course. I just want her to feel comfortable in the water, and she is just not there yet.
After explaining to Horse that we are not upset at all about how this course ended, we pointed out that she did "complete" a number of items on the list that declares what must be completed before moving to the next level. She appeared to be dwelling on what she considered to be her failures, so I told her to get ready to go shopping with me. We would go out to buy a purse of sorts for her, and if she had any allowance she wished to spend, she could do so as well. She needed the bag before school, and she has been saving up her allowance for quite a while now. Shopping to the rescue!
My little lady decided she wanted to go to the mall instead of the local department store, so off we went. Upon arrival, she informed me of the store that her entire class spends every possible second frequenting. Feeling grateful she was no longer moping, I let her take the lead.
Apparently, her whole class was both female and rich, judging by the contents of the lusted-after store. Horse threw herself into the task of finding just the right bag, which just happened to cost more than twice what it would have at the department store. Some days, it is worth the self-esteem boost to know that you are buying the brand-name version of an item, so we made the purchase. She then spent ages looking around the store for something that she wanted to purchase out of her allowance. She looked at wallets, erasers, stencils, smelly items (pencils, bath soaps, etc.), and all sorts of clothing. Horse looked overwhelmed by the sheer volume of items for sale.
Eventually, I asked Horse whether she'd rather buy overpriced clothing or overpriced stationery items, which appeared to be the two distinct groups in-between which she was bouncing, and she chose the expensive clothing. I followed her around the store until she came across a skirt that she really, really wanted. I told her to take a look at the price tag and tell me if she wanted it that badly. Horse decided that no skirt was worth thirty-six dollars, no matter how cute it was. The next thing I knew, we were on our way out of the mall to hit the local department store with their cheaper prices instead.
Eventually, we picked up a few pair of jeans and some tights at said department store. Because those were necessary articles of clothing instead of frivolous purchases just to look like a girlie girl, I paid for them. Horse used her allowance to purchase another starter deck for the card game she likes. She still has her eye on girlie girl clothes, but has decided she is willing to wait for sales (and perhaps a growth spurt to necessitate more clothing) so that we will contribute a certain amount of money towards their purchase.
Ultimately, Horse will have to decide how much of her own cash she is willing to contribute towards clothing from the ritzy mall store. She might choose just one or two select items once their price drops, or she might decide that she would rather choose from the cheaper store. Regardless, she is now much more aware of the cost behind some clothing. We even managed to discuss the difference between "hand wash, lay flat to dry," which does not exist in my household, and the lovely "machine wash and dry." She decided that if Mom can't throw it in the washing machine, she has no desire to hand wash those suckers herself. Smart girl.
The fact that she is learning these lessons at the ripe old age of nine is well-worth the cost of that uber-expensive purse.
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