I was sitting at the dining room table, once again leafing through my favorite book about politics, when I came across a reference to oligarchies. I turned to my daughter and said 'Now, I know this is an unfair question, but -- do you know what an oligarchy is?' She seemed surprised. "Sure", she said. "We learned it last year. It's when only a few people run the whole government." I tell her that it won't be long before she routinely tells me things I didn't know -- it already happens on occasion -- and that I for one am looking forward to it.
She already recommends the occasional story to me -- her latest was The School Story, by Andrew Clements. I'm glad she felt comfortable recommending it to me, and of course, I'm delighted to see her read so much -- even if, on occasion, we get exasperated when we buy her a book at Borders, and in the twenty minutes till we get home, she's finished about a third of it, waking up the next morning and telling us that she's finished it. (We've learned not to let her take a book into the bathroom when she's supposed to be getting ready for school.) And Clements books are easy to like -- they have a warm, comfortable feeling, even when they're dealing with sensitive or edgy topics. She's read five of them, and I've read two of those five. They're uniformly excellent.
Tomorrow we make a ground assault on the shopping malls in the Washington, DC area. Part of me says that a spending limit is fine, as I don't want much; part says a spending limit is a very bad idea, because I can't get all the stuff that I think my partner deserves. We'll see how it turns out. Good thing we're taking the van!
5 comments:
On spending limits: I think they're a great idea... but my husband has already upped the limit twice in the last week. So is there really a purpose to a limit if we're just going to change it?? :)
I really like giving gifts. :)
On spending limits: I think they're a great idea... but my husband has already upped the limit twice in the last week. So is there really a purpose to a limit if we're just going to change it?? :)
I really like giving gifts. :)
On spending limits: I think they're a great idea... but my husband has already upped the limit twice in the last week. So is there really a purpose to a limit if we're just going to change it?? :)
I really like giving gifts. :)
On spending limits: I think they're a great idea... but my husband has already upped the limit twice in the last week. So is there really a purpose to a limit if we're just going to change it?? :)
I really like giving gifts. :)
I tend to regard them as a serious suggestion, and a bungee-cord -- I don't have to stay right there, but I shouldn't go too far outside the limit. Though last year, I was just about done, and I had stayed in the limit -- and then (having seen them many times before) I was suddenly struck by the elegance of the iPod Nano, and I gave it to her. She was pleased, once she got over being irritated that, once again, I'd spent more than I said I would.
Yesterday, incidentally, was a complete wipeout for me. I could not find a single thing that said 'her' to me. I was simultaneously ticked and amazed.
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