Lesson #6 - Going Once…Going Twice…SOLD!

Let me tell you, I didn’t realize I had a competitive side in me until this week. Izzy’s school had an on-line auction fundraiser. The auction item I decided to bid on was: Mrs. Adams Bedtime Story, which entails Izzy’s first grade teacher coming over to our house one night dressed in her pajamas (armed with cookies and milk) and reading bedtime stories to Izzy and any friend Izzy chose. The value of the item was priceless of course. I was the first to bid on it. I pretty much thought I had it in the bag since no one was bidding against me all week. That is until this past Monday, which was the last day to bid. Izzy kept asking me all week if we were winning. It was the only thing she had asked for from the long list of items. And with this being her last year at this school I was determined to get it for her because that’s what mommies do. We fight tooth and nails for our kids. Okay, so maybe that’s a little extreme for an auction item, but you get my point. So come Monday, when other people starting bidding for the same item, it became a bit of a frenzy. The bidding was ending at 9:00 pm and by 8:00 pm I was going back and forth with several other mommies (tooth and nails) determined to win it. By 8:30 I was at my max amount of what I wanted to spend on it. Nervous and distraught, I thought about how disappointed Izzy would be in the morning. And yes, I know she has to get used to disappointments sooner or later but she’s only 7. Her disappointments can come later. Besides, at last years auction, she only asked for one thing and I was unable to get it because of an egotistical father who was determined to beat me no matter the cost. But then that’s a whole other story. I wanted this year to be different. And the more I thought about it, as the minutes kept ticking closer to 9:00 pm, I realized some things truly are worth the extra effort. I knew it wasn’t an item that she would put in her room or play with to only get tired of it later and have it given away. It would be a very special moment, shared with her teacher she adores and her best friend, a moment she would remember years to come. And one thing I’ve learned is that life is about moments…moments that can never be taken away. So I sat back in my chair, rolled up my pajama sleeves, and with my iPad in hand started bidding until the final moment. And let me tell you, as happy as I was to be the winner there was no greater joy then Izzy waking up the next morning, me giving her the thumbs up (because that was the signal we decided on that evening if we won) and seeing her beautiful smile light up her eyes. Priceless…