Congratulations to our friends Britta and Ryan on their new little one - Kiri! This post is related to her arrival, and I waited to post it because I didn't want to say what we sent them before they received it. (I don't really expect that a new mom is really reading this thing when she has a wonderful little bundle to keep her busy and exhausted, but all the same...)
The baby was expected in a week or so, and I was kicking myself for never getting anything sent for her since I missed two different showers. I couldn't squeeze my eyes tight enough to make something fun appear in my recollection of the one shelf of baby items at the variety store in Cimarron. All I could see were a couple overpriced bottles and pacifiers - not something fun, and certainly not unique. Why a baby who is interested in eating, sleeping, and pooping needs something fun and unique is beside the point.
Then I remembered that a certain little niece I have, Clara - for anonymity, had tie-dyed a number of little onesies to sell. She showed them to us a month or two back after we heard the story of her enterprising plans. Clara set a goal for herself in high school to buy the mercantile and open a cheese factory. Pre-cheese-making, she discovered how fun it is to tie-dye and was ready to turn any article of clothing into a rainbow of colors. So I called Clara a couple weeks ago on a Saturday to see if she was still selling onesies - she was. I asked how much they cost and if she accepted both cash and check. Mostly over the phone I got a verbal shrug of the shoulders, though she said her mom would say she could accept check or cash. I think she already had dollar signs in her eyes.
A couple hours later I stopped by her shop, where Clara had laid out her collection across the dining room table. I deliberated - some very beautiful work and varying styles. I settled on a short sleeve and a long sleeve for Baby Fisher and paid in cash. I figured a check would be a little harder to spend, but I had exact change and could see the allure of the green bills in Clara's eyes. Clara's sister helped write up a receipt for them - sold from the "Onesies Store" - which Clara wanted to copy to write up receipts for future purchases. Having recently helped Clara to zip up her wallet at a basketball concession stand, I asked if she had room in there for anything more. She acknowledged that she did not and would need a cash box for her sales. Her sister supplied an old pencil box covered in stickers. In the bills went, and Clara proudly proclaimed that she was going to save up all her money from onesies and from selling eggs (from the neighbor's chickens) and see how much she has at the end of the summer.
Four hours later sitting around the same table, Clara's tio said he has an iPod to sell - time to upgrade to something with more memory. The shrewd little saleswoman with cash box in hand quickly shouts out how much money she has and is ready to purchase - maybe seen a couple of those auction shows on TV. In truth, she needs to sell several more onesies before she has enough to buy an iPod, but I just got such a laugh at how quickly the savings plan went out the window. Clearly she was both proud to have earned the money and eager to spend her first sales.
Oh Clara....
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