Out and about on an errand one afternoon, the little Pickwicks were very excited as we pulled into the bank parking lot. They had already each scored a tiny porcelain ballerina from the thrift store, but there was still something missing to really be the cherry on top of this cupcake of Pickwickian happiness. Usually Mrs P is Very Firm about begging for treasures but even she is no match for Sweet when there is one for each of us, mommy!! Honestly, how often does one find enough porcelain ballerinas to go around in one thrifty outing? Like a sucker loving mother, Mrs Pickwick bought them all, and they were not even half-price!

 

The bank promised to fill their cups to overflowing however, and they bounced in their seats as we approached.
Sweet, exuberantly building up the expectations of all the little Pickwicks: “Mommy!! Mommy! This is the place where we can get suckers!! They have suckers here!! In a basket— millions of them!!”
Mrs P: “Well, yes, but we are not going in today. We are just going to the window.”
Sweet: “Oh, well, the lady in the window will see us and give you suckers for us.”
Mrs. P, because she occasionally feels slightly self-conscious requesting nearly impossibly large quantities of lollipops at the drive-thru: “Perhaps. Sometimes she does see you back there and sends the suckers out for you. But she may not see you. Not all the ladies at the bank know you are in the car.”
Sweet, momentarily dejected, but brightening with the genius of a fool-proof plan: “Oh. Well, don’t worry Mommy! We will be noisy.”