Flip Flops

A couple of months back I bought a 20 pound bag of rice during my local store's caselot sale. It is a nice resealable bag, but I didn't really want to keep it in that indefinitely. So, the other day I bought a bucket and a Gamma lid, intending to put my rice in that. Now, I stood there, in the aisle, debating with myself for 15 minutes trying to decide if it was really worth spending over $10 on a container for my rice. I finally decided it was, and bought it.

Yesterday, two of my kids informed me that their flip flops from last year were broken, and that with our suddenly warm weather, they didn't want to wear socks and tennis shoes. I'm not normally the type to just run out and buy something the second one of my kids think they need something, but this is one item I agreed with them on.

The problem was I didn't have any money to buy them. Not even the cheap $2 ones from Walmart.

But the kids needed them.

So, since I hadn't yet used it, I returned my bucket and the Gamma lid and I used that money to buy them each a cheap pair of flip flops. The bucket and lid were probably a better investment, it could be used for many years to come, and flip flops might last maybe a month. But, my children always come before my needs, and this is something they needed.

As I was standing in the return line, I was sad. I felt terrible that I didn't even have the extra few dollars to buy my kids needed shoes. It was hard knowing I had to return one thing to buy another. There used to be a time, not too long ago, when I could have easily gone out and bought them both without any hesitation. Now, I have to count every.single.penny.

It's okay though. My kids have the shoes they needed, and my rice will stay fresh in the current bag it is in, at least for awhile. Hopefully in the not too distant future I will have an extra $10 to purchase the bucket and lid again, but for now, all is well.