KNOW THINE OPPORTUNITY

Great quote.  "Know thine opportunity." - Pittacus. 
{sometimes seen as "Know THY opportunity."}

In case you're asking "Who was Pittacus?", you can check that out right here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittacus_of_Mytilene
Or, if you like, here's a quick rundown: (c. 640-568 BC) Pittacus was the son of Hyrradius and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. He was a native of Mytilene and the Mytilenaean general who, with his army, was victorious in the battle against the Athenians and their commander Phrynon.

One of our grandchildren knew HER opportunity yesterday and made it her reality.

Cara and Kaia and I were on our way to see my nephew and his family at the beach.  Along the way, I wanted to stop in at MERMAID MERCANTILE {hosted the last weekend of each month at OUT OF THE BLUE { http://www.shesellsseashells.com/  }, a cute little shop in Solana Beach}.  

 I was seeking vintage ... pajamas, or a nightie, or something ... for the PJ Party at THE CREATIVE CONNECTION  { http://www.thecreativeconnectionevent.com/  }

So there's the "story":

We're wandering about, each of us lost in our own little fantasy worlds ... 'oh, if only $$ were no object' ... 'i love this, i can't live without it, but what would i DO with it' ... those kinds of thoughts.   And a whole lot of 'why, isn't that clever?'.

Cara sidles over to me ... "Kaia is in love with a chair."

Huh?  A chair?

"You have to come see it.  She's crazy about this chair."

What artsy / interior designer / wanting-to-encourage-creativity-in-the-grandchildren woman WOULDN'T wander over to see just what kind of chair would capture the heart of a 10 1/2 year old ???

     OH. MY. GOSH.   It was darling.  It was vintage.  It had been re-upholstered in PINK SUEDE.  It had BLACK & WHITE (on the bias, of course) double piping all the way round.  It had tufting - with matching BLACK & WHITE buttons.  It was from the 50's.  It was going to appear in a magazine next month.

"No wonder she loves it,", I said.  "Wow."

"Mom, you don't understand.  She WANTS that chair."

Oh my.  Now what?

So Cara asks how much the chair is.  Kaia had some money from her grandfather, a gift for her entering the sixth grade.  Not for school supplies or school clothes.  Just. A. Gift.   Kaia could do whatever she wanted with it, including deposit it in her savings account.

"The chair is $275."

You could hear us all exhale, I swear.  We all appeared, I am sure, crestfallen. 

"That's a lot of money, honey, for a chair.  Even one so darling as that one."

We wandered around some more.  I made my (small) purchases.  Kaia could NOT stop thinking about that chair.  She went back for another (and another) peek at it.  She had it bad.

As we're headed to the car, Kaia says "Mom, do you remember how much is left in my savings account? ".  
Ohmygosh, this kid was SERIOUS.

We drove away, and I swear, Kaia took a last look back.  We all three felt the pain of leaving that chair behind.

We bought lunch to take to the beach party.  Kaia's still doing the math.

"Mom, can we stop at our bank to just SEE what I have in there? ".   Thanks to modern technology, Cara could look it up on her Blackberry - and there just happened to be a branch 5 minutes away.   Apparently, the beach could wait.

In they went.  Out they came.  All I could see was a HUGE smile and a "thumbs up" from Kaia.  SHE DID IT.  She had enough.  Ohmygosh.  That means she WITHDREW her savings.  I had a brief sinking feeling.

But then, guess what happened?  My joy on her behalf took over.   I was so proud that my 10 1/2 year old grandchild LIKED vintage furniture.  I was so happy that my grandchild LIKED flea market / thrift store / treasure trove kinds of places.   I was so proud that she MADE.THIS.HAPPEN. for herself.

Cara quick called the lady with the chair.  "Remember us? My daughter is the one that wants to buy that darling chair.  She just withdrew all but $5 of her savings to buy it.".

And do you know what that lovely lady did?  She took $25 off the chair (which just about covered the sales tax).   We went back, Kaia paid for HER chair, got her receipt (see photo),

and we agreed to return on Sunday to pick it up.

I'm sure you've guessed it.  The girls went home, Kaia cleared out her old stuffed animals that took up THE PERFECT CORNER of her bedroom, they vacuumed and dusted and made it READY for today.  And today, Sunday, Kaia woke up at just about the crack of dawn - envisioning, I am quite certain, THE CORNER with THE CHAIR that she will GO TO SLEEP to ... tonight.

Blissfully your ...
Princess Magpie