Throwing Money Away

Chris and I often joke about how we are practically throwing money away--on lots of things, but primarily--whenever we buy kids shoes. Every single one of our five kids has outgrown his or her shoes this past month (alright, Brian's tennies were so stinky that they had to be tossed out, but that is another story alltogether).

I had to tell Chris recently that our youngest daughter is actually throwing away money.

She is a careful citizen, and is greatly concerned with ridding the house of litter and choking hazards (she is also obsessed with the trash compactor, which might have a little to do with her loving the act of throwing things away). She gets very serious when she finds a tissue, a wrapper, the tiniest crumb, or a piece of cereal laying on the ground. She picks up the errant item and immediately goes to toss it.

I had forgotten to mention this until today, when I read about Malea pitching her mom's cell phone and remembered the crumpled dollar bill that I found in our trash a few weeks back.

I have caught her in the act of throwing away money, so I know Miss Bridget is the culprit. To her, apparently cash equals trash. We don't leave money all over the house, but if Bridget discovers any sitting out, we can kiss it goodbye. She'll grab a bill off the counter, crumple it into a tiny ball and head for the nearest trash can.

I'll have to have a little talk with her about the economy and the value of the dollar someday. For now, I'll keep an eagle eye trained on her at all times, and continue to chuckle about finding cash in the trash.