I was in Beverly’s the other day buying scraps of fabric for the Money Jars I will be having kids make at an upcoming book signing.\u00a0 I totally lucked out on the fabric scraps!\u00a0 The day before, I had gone in to purchase the fabric and was told that I could save a lot of\u00a0 money by waiting until the next day where I could fill a bag with as much fabric scrap as I wanted for only $2.\u00a0 So, since I’m a savvy shopper, I left the store and returned the following morning.<\/p>\n
The next day, when I got to the back of the store where all the scraps were, one other person was there sorting through all the left-over fabric bins.\u00a0 Apparently she and another woman, who had already left,\u00a0were there when the doors opened, half an hour earlier, and had first dibbs at all the cool fabric.\u00a0 Who knew I had to get up early for fabric scraps?!<\/p>\n
So I started chit-chatting with the woman about what she had planned on doing with her fabric.\u00a0 She had one very cool piece that had kid-friendly farm animals on it…and I wanted it.\u00a0 Apparently she makes scarves for veterans.\u00a0 Okay, that’s cool.\u00a0 But farm animals?\u00a0 I was salivating over the farm animals.<\/p>\n
So we chit-chatted some more and I started telling her about what I do.\u00a0 Kids…money…saving…jars… Somehow we got on the topic of commercials and kids.<\/p>\n
“My daughter-in-law doesn’t allow her kids to watch t.v.,” the scarf woman said.<\/p>\n
“Why not?” I asked.<\/p>\n
“She doesn’t want them exposed to all that commercialism.”<\/p>\n
“Oh.\u00a0 That’s a bummer,”\u00a0 I said.\u00a0 “Watching commercials is probably one of the best ways to teach our kids how to think critically.\u00a0 Besides, it’s pretty much guaranteed that one day they’re going to be exposed to all that stuff.\u00a0 Don’t you think the kids need the skills to be able to\u00a0think through all those messages?”<\/p>\n
She actually stopped going through the fabric.\u00a0 My chance to dive to the bottom of the bin and find the next kid-friendly fabric.<\/p>\n
“Well, that’s just her style,” she ended up saying.\u00a0 I decided not to push it any further.\u00a0 People really don’t like to think that their, or their daughter-in-law’s,\u00a0parenting style is being questioned.<\/p>\n
But my hope is that it gave her something to think about.\u00a0 And perhaps she’ll even decide to share it so that her grandkids can be armed before they’re out on their own.\u00a0 Although my guess is that the daughter-in-law would not take kindly to mom-in-law giving her tips on parenting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I left, my bag was filled to the brim with moon and star fabric, fabric that shimmered, fake pink leather fabric…but, alas,\u00a0no farm animals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was in Beverly’s the other day buying scraps of fabric for the Money Jars I will be having kids make at an upcoming book signing.\u00a0 I totally lucked out on the fabric scraps!\u00a0 The day before, I had gone in to purchase the fabric and was told that I could save a lot of\u00a0 money by waiting until the next day where I could fill a bag with as much fabric scrap as I wanted for only $2.\u00a0 So,…<\/p>\n