I took my seven year old to shop for a birthday present for her soon-to-be ten year old, big sister.
She knew before we left the house, our mission was to keep our heads down, stay focused and go to the first store that sold Beanie Ballz.
Ellie was the right person to bring on the mission.
For reasons I can’t disclose, Ellie seemed to know exactly what Hanna wanted from her sister for her birthday leading me to believe, the two had concocted an elaborate plan to pretend Ellie wanted to spend some alone time with me resulting in Hanna getting what she wanted and Ellie probably getting a frozen yogurt.
Also, Ellie knew what Beanie Ballz were.
We discussed the Beanie Ballz already in Hanna’s collection and Ellie was very mentally prepared almost always starting her sentences with “Hanna says” and then quickly retracting and starting again, “I think Hanna would like….”
We passed the frozen gelato stand (can gelato ever not be frozen?) and Ellie’s eyes began to bulge out of the sockets.
I couldn’t resist letting her have a treat knowing the Ballz would be all Hanna’s.
She started with a mix of pink grapefruit and sour apple gelato and topped it with a scoop of colourful mini-marshmallows. Oh. So. Gross.
When it came time to pay, the young gelato-barista guided us over to a scale and we set the strange, sour concoction on top and it read 2.something. I figure this meant I was going to be out a toonie to watch my kid take a bite of sour sorbet mixed with stale marshmallows and not want the rest of it.
Thankfully, I was wrong.
Unfortunately for me, the error was in Gelato-guy’s favour and he charged me something closer to $17 for her cup.
Nonetheless, I was spending some one-on-one time with my middle child which doesn’t happen very often.
I watched her take the first bite and her eyes started to water. She said only one word, “Wow!” and I asked her if she liked it.
She said, “Well, you would think it would be disgusting but it’s actually quite pleasant.”
That’s why I love hanging out with that kid.
Beanie Ballz and all.
