The Day My Mom Bought the Wrong Fridge

...it happened...it was only a matter of time...While the death of an appliance isn't really that big of a deal, to someone who has never bought a refrigerator, it's slightly terrifying. I'm thrifty. I look for sales. But this was something that took time, thought, mental fortitude, and guts to spend money...this wasn't a board game, this was actual life...but I already knew that I guess.

I've seen gypsies. I'm not talking on TV, I'm talking real live gypsies. I actually blame them for not being able to enjoy a once in a lifetime experience. Turns out, on that day, the bottom of the Eiffel Tower is where all the gypsies hung out. My one chance to really see this marvel of a landmark, the often used symbol of romance and elegance...and at the bottom packs of gypsies. I'm sure they were very nice people, but I started to hear them. I was warned that they have a vague communication method of clicking. You sort of slightly hear it. You start to wonder what it is. By the time you actually hear it, they have already emptied your pocket and are using your money to buy themselves the French equivalent of a hot dog. And you? You're standing there broke. But once you have witnessed their prowess, it's not something you ever forget.

Cut to me...walking into the Sears department store...with four kids. I had already given the whole "fiscally responsible" speech to my unnaturally quiet offspring in the car. They appeared to listen, they nodded their heads, so I thought, okay...good enough. We walk into the store and within 7 seconds, it hit me. This was a scene I had seen before...I could recognize the look on the sales associate's face...she was thinking a gypsy with FOUR kids who were unusually excited about kitchen appliances. After retrieving Atticus from inside one of the refrigerators, I had decided that we failed to discuss going into a store and the art of being inconspicuous...lesson learned. I can't be sure, but I'm fairly certain I heard the a sigh of relief as we left the store.

I walk this teetering line a lot. I know kids just see things, and they want it. I know kids, while they completely understand spending their own money (usually on worthless crap), they have little understanding on how 'our' money is/should/needs to be spent. I over heard Abe telling Oscar "...yeah, a water feature is cool, but it's like $500 extra and they usually break...don't even get me started on a stainless steal front..." For a minute, I thought what? So okay, someone was hearing me, and on this rare occasion they were actually listening. It is still scary to make these very expensive decisions on my own. I'm so terrified that I'll make a mistake, because let's face it, it's hard to bounce major financial questions off of a 9 year old. Sometimes I let it seriously consume me, if this is all jacked up, what ever it may be that particular day, it's my fault.

But as I was walking around Best Buy, texting people about what appliance they had, it occurred to me...I'm probably not going to be sent to a Turkish prison for buying the wrong refrigerator. My kids won't need therapy or write their tell all book from prison entitled The Day My Mom Bought the Wrong Fridge. I have to face the facts. First of all, I hate to spend big money, I'm not your average female. Secondly, from time to time it's sucky to be an adult, and suckier still when you don't have another one to fall back on. You make the hard decisions and hope someone was watching you do the right thing...all the while knowing, that in less than 24 hours, you will have a refrigerator again, and hell no does it have stainless steal front!