FIRST THINGS FIRST

I wrote the post title, it had popped into my head after minutes of deciding on my topic for today. After I typed it I wasn't really sure what it meant. So, of course I googled it and an article I read suggested it means, remember to prioritize what needs to be done.

I think that we automatically do "first things first".  But maybe I forget to apply it all the way down the line of the activity, whatever that may be. In my last post I mentioned the children were coming for a visit and we could do a Christmas project.

When the grandchildren arrived I set aside the thoughts of beginning to get ready for the December holidays.  They needed to get ready for the first day back to school.  Okay, first things first.

I remember how it was for me. My mother took me shopping about a week before school and she purchased 5 dresses for me, one for every day of the week. As a grandparent I wouldn't need to do the whole shebang, only supplement.  What fun we could have.  Their great-grandmother was the most enthusiastic of all.

The middle child, a 9 year old boy, immediately said, "I already have new shirts, I want to stay home." That worked for me because then I'd only be shopping with 2 kids. More importantly, who needs a party pooper anyway?  I'll pick out his shirt for him. See, in my head I was thinking one item for each child.

We started with the seven year old girl. All four of us begin to pull off dresses from the racks for her to try on and it began to occur to me that we did not set a limit of how many dresses, items she could choose. She wanted 4 dresses plus a purse and a headband. At that moment mother and I declared 2 dresses and ... gave in to the purse.

3rd grade dress,

 1 of five for that year.

The 13 year old boy had disappeared when we emerged from the dressing room.  We located him with an armload of brilliantly colored sport shirts for leisure, since he has a set code of apparel he wears at school.  Oh boy, did I mess this up by not doing first things first and set a limit?

To begin, we told him 2 articles of clothing since the girl had chosen 2 dresses. He had 4 shirts he liked. Without pause he says, "Can I price match with my sister? Let's go to the price check gadget."

I never used this method when shopping with his dad and aunt. The rule was each child got what they needed and it wasn't based on money.  But now I'm thinking my grandson's idea will be the thing to do in my present situation.  It will be the answer to fix my unpreparedness. He will have to choose whatever dollar amount of shirts verses her dollar amount of dresses. Great!

Ha! What a clever fellow. He went home with four shirts.  It was a terrific shopping trip and I am so fortunate  to spend time with them.