The 5-Cent Anti-Parent

I’d ruined years of my wife’s child-rearing–for only a nickle. 

My two-year old son and I  were heading into the local K-Mart.  I can’t even remember what I was buying, probably something for my beat-up boat, but I’d brought Aidan along.  We were heading in to the store’s entrance when he saw the merry-go-round, one of those three-seaters.

Merry3

I put him on the donkey and congratulated myself on my parenting skills.  Aidan rocked back and forth, having a wonderful time.  I smiled at the joy that was about to happen. 

I put the nickel in the box,; he lurched forward with the music and grabbed those painted ears tight.  His eyes widened, then a large grin came over his face as he rode the 4.5 laps around the little circle.  When it abruptly stopped he tried doing what we all do with a broken car or a stalled fairground pony; he rocked back and forth violently, trying to jump-start the ill-tempered animal.

Then he saw what he hadn’t seen last time.  I dug into my pocket and found another nickel.  He saw it go in the bright yellow box, heard the clink and grabbed tight again for the next round…and then one more.

Our son, before his world changed

Our son, before his world changed

The inanimate donkey that was so appealing moments before was now a terrible punishment.  Aidan was furious at its inaction and yet refused to be pulled off–screaming at the cruel carny-father that wouldn’t let him continue his fun.  I finally was able to unhook his legs from the donkey’s belly and carried my twisting armful into K-Mart to pick up whatever it was.

And when I returned home with the tear-stained toddler and reported what had happened, my wife shook her head and informed me that she’d never put money in those things.

For the next three years, until he started earning his own nickels, we avoided K-Marts.

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About Kevin Walsh

Kevin began MyMediaDiary.com in 2013 as an experiment that was as simple as "What's a blog?" and ended up becoming a forum for fellow writers. He's been a high school teacher for 28 years and worked as an administrator and instructor in colleges for 6. Contact him at: kevin@mymediadiary.com He is also the producer of the web-series and blog, www.DiggingDetroit, founder and producer for MMD Productions at www.mmdphotovideo.com which offers quick, professional photography, video and multimedia solutions for individuals, organizations and businesses. His high school media production text, "Video Direct," has been used in 40 states--and he occasionally still sells a few. He is the current president of the non-profit DAFT (Digital Arts Film and Television) which sponsors the Michigan Student Film Festival. He lives in Royal Oak, Michigan, is married to Patrice and is tolerated by his two kids Aidan and Abby who have all graciously allowed him to write about them on occasion. Follow Kevin on Twitter @kwteacher

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