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Walking through Wal-Mart is one of my least favorite things to do in the entire world. Along with half of the world within driving distance of one of those infernal box-stores. It amazes me that my husband would acually refer to shopping as my having "time for myself". But I digress. This morning as I was looking for baseball card pages (you know, the kind that are plastic, go inside a three-ring binder, have 9 holes for cards) for my growing ATC collection and I overheard the following conversation between a boy and his mother in the toy department. The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.

Mom: Come on, we have to go.

Boy: But Mom, did you see this? (as he jumps into a shiny red battery-powered plastic car)

Mom: Mm-Hmm... Let's go.

Boy: Mom - look at this! It has mirrors - I bet they bend just like yours when you hit something! 

Mom: Come on - don't break it or I'll have to buy it!

OK, so on the surface that comment seems rational enough. Mom knows that if he breaks it, money will come out f her budget to pay for it. I know because when mine were little I said exactly the same thing. But jeesh - if the kid wants it anyway, why give him a reason to break it? After all, if he goes with her rationalization then you break it = you take it home! I chuckled through the store...