When I was growing up, I was the type of kid who never had
any clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. There was that brief window when I
wanted to be a Ninja Turtle. However, once I realized that I was not a reptile,
I realized that dream was an impossibility. Since that fateful day, I haven't
come any closer to figuring out what I want to do with my life. Pretty sad,
right?
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| The moment I saw Oprah staring at a Ninja Turtle with absolute confusion, I knew I must use this gif. |
Lucky for Ellie, that's not a struggle she has had to deal
with. In fact, her dreams for her life seemingly change weekly. One week,
she'll desire to be an astronaut. On another, she'll want to be a farmer.
However, my daughter does have one dream that is consistently there and never
fades. She aspires to become the world's
greatest check-out lady. Fortunately for Ellie, she recently got a little
practice to help her achieve her goal.
As most people realize, we are in the midst of Christmas
shopping season. The quest for the perfect gift envelopes us all. Sometimes
though, the perfect gift doesn't require spending an arm and a leg (especially
if it borders on being a gag gift). All it might take is a little trip to the
local Harbor Freight Tools.
I realize many might not be familiar with Harbor Freight
Tools. Basically, it's a place to buy really cheap tools. For the record, they
are both cheap in cost and quality which makes it perfect for a gag gift. I
don't want to say much more about said "gift" because no one wants
their Christmas to be spoiled.
As the product I was interested in was currently on sale, it
was very important that I complete the transaction before the sale ended. While
I realize I could have just purchased online, my reasons for not doing so were
twofold. Number one, I really didn't want to pay more for shipping than the
cost of the product. Number two, our local Harbor Freight is but two or three
miles away. Therefore, I loaded up Ellie and Ethan and set out on a short car
ride.
Upon arriving at Harbor Freight, the three of us headed
inside the store with Ellie and I co-pushing Ethan in an incredibly tiny
shopping cart. Seriously, my poor little man's hips were nearly touching the
side of the cart. We serpentined down aisle after aisle before finally
discovering our prize in the last aisle remaining. With ecstatic victory, we
headed to the check-out counter to pay for our purchase.
I've become aware that part of shopping with two incredibly
cute children is that it's pretty easy to find myself engaging in conversation
with random people. In this instance, the random person was our check-out lady.
For the record, I didn't get her name so we'll call her "Betty".
As "Betty" and I made small talk over my silly
purchase, she then turned her attention to the set of blue eyes and blond hair
sticking up over the counter. "Betty" then explained to Ellie how the
checkout system worked and actually asked Ellie if she would like to scan our
purchase. She didn't have to ask Ellie twice as she quickly ran around the
counter and stood next to "Betty" waiting for whatever was next.
"Betty" gently handed the scanner to Ellie and showed her the proper
button to press. Then, she held our purchase under the laser while Ellie
scanned the bar code. With the accompanying "beep", our purchase was
made and it was time to pay and leave.
As I wheeled away from the counter, "Betty" called
out to Ellie one final time saying, "Thanks for helping me check out
today, Ellie! You were a big help." Ellie's response was non-verbal in
nature but the massive smile covering her face said all that needed to be said
on this day. My little girl had just completed her very first
"internship." #DaddyWrite
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