Show and Share

We got another box of hand-me-downs for Meg from my dad’s cousin this week. There were about a dozen pairs of shoes and Meg was in heaven. She tried on every pair and proclaimed them all beautiful. Some were very worn, but she’s three and she doesn’t even notice. (Heck, I’m in heaven because these are CUTE shoes and since I usually don’t get to wear cute shoes myself, I love when Meg does!)

Last night we were brainstorming what she should bring for Show and Share this week and I suggested she wear a pair of her new shoes to show everyone. She found that idea very exciting and took the task of choosing a pair seriously. It was then I realized all the shoes were clearly used. They’re in good shape and will be great for her, but they’re obviously not new and now I’m sending her off to daycare to brag about just receiving them. Which, hey, I’m all for saving money. I just don’t want the teachers to worry about us, you know?

This comes fresh off the heels of my Show and Share victory, too. Last week, I edited, cropped, uploaded to Walgreens, and picked up (with a coupon, even!) a picture of Meg, me, and my sister’s baby so she could show all her friends she has a new baby cousin. I was feeling pretty impressed with myself, especially since the week before she took plastic French fries from her play food set.  

And now I’m remembering the time she won a stuffed animal at our neighborhood block party and I encouraged her to bring it to show everyone. The thing is, this is a small block party. The neighbors don’t go out and buy stuffed animals especially for it. People donate whatever they’ve got (who doesn’t have stuffed animals to get rid of, right?) and everyone has a good time. So Meg of course picks the rattiest stuffed animal of the bunch, which is fine. We let her get whatever she wanted without influencing her choice. But then (at my suggestion!) she showed everyone at daycare her “new” stuffed bunny, which had obviously seen much better days.

It makes me wonder what everyone else brings for show and share. I mean, it’s every week and you only have so much stuff. I’m sure other people are reduced to plastic French fries every now and then, right? I pretty much let her bring anything she’s excited about, so we’re definitely not showing off.