compromise: theme park equilibrium

I’m a cheapskate. I hate to spend money. I look for deals. I hold my wallet close. “Do I need this?” “Why do I want to buy this?”

I’m not an extreme coupon kind of person — I don’t NEED that much toilet paper, detergent or other crap. I buy what will make us happy, in some sense.

When we head to a theme park as we did this weekend, I remind my girls that we aren’t buying water. We might get one treat. We have spent enough on the hotel, gas and admission. We can each get one useful souvenir, but I’m not buying junk and extras.

Fast forward to this weekend. I, as the mom, failed. I forgot to remind the girls to wear the right clothes and shoes. I figured after the past 13 years of traveling with me, they needed no further nagging. How wrong I was.

We were having a great time at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando — until we went on Ripsaw Falls and then Popeye’s rafts…. We got SOAKED. Once we got off, Chloe had a total meltdown. Her jeans shorts itched. Her shoes were miserable\y wet. I admit, I was uncomfortable. But I had on Keens and a cotton skirt. I knew I’d dry out pretty fast.

wet girls - 10 sep 2012

Should I stand my ground and let the girl be miserable? Or do I fork out the $$ to buy her dry clothes so we can continue on with enjoying our day? In the end, we spent both time and money to find dry stuff that Chloe can wear for the next year. Not in the plan, but she has souvenirs that not only made the rest of the day fun, that will remind her of the fun we had and will be useful.

I was annoyed, but I think I found the right balance of being a cheapskate and making the most of our money in the end …. check out those awesome “Thing 1” and “Thing 2” Converse shoes that she now proudly wears!

new shoes - 10 sep 2012