Art of Barter

Tonight at the dinner table, Angel proved to me that she is perfecting the art of bartering. It is a skill that the triplets have been practicing quite awhile now, and their little sister Annie seems to be at the center of every exchange.

On our drive home from a soccer game the other day, the kids asked me to stop at 7-11 to buy them a Slurpee. They had been extremely well-behaved that morning, so I pulled off the freeway and into the nearest 7-11. After discovering that there were two flavors to choose from, Banana or Fruit Punch, the kids began discussing and debating which flavor would be the best choice. They discussed it with such fervor and seriousness, an onlooker would have thought they were making a life-altering decision. Within minutes, the decision was made.

Angel, Isaac, and Bella would take a banana Slurpee, and their little sister Annie would take Fruit Punch, as decided by the older three.

In order to keep things copacetic, I prepared and delivered the Slurpee's in birth order.

Angel first-Banana

Isaac second-Banana

Bella third-Banana

And then, their little sister Annie- Fruit Punch. Like seagulls swooping in on an unclaimed piece of Cheetos at the beach, those three swooped into Annie, inviting her to try their banana-flavored Slurpee's.

While the clerk watched on, I stood a bit straighter, proud that my trio had learned the art of sharing, that I, their diligent mother, had been trying to teach them since they day they were born.

After taking a swig from each straw, Annie returned to her own. Instantaneously, she had what looked like three baby birds, mouths open, requesting a swig from her cup.

Shoulders slumped, I exchanged smirks with the clerk, realizing that my children were not in the least bit trying to share with their little sister. What they were doing was taking advantage of her. One-sided bartering.

It didn't stop there. Tonight at the dinner table, we revisited this bartering technique. I'm sensing a pattern, because tonight's bartering episode was also about food. Chocolate pudding, to be exact.

Bella and Isaac had already completed their dinner and had even finished off their chosen dessert of chocolate pudding, leaving Angel and Annie alone at the table. Annie was having a hard time finishing her dinner, which is common every night. I had already rattled off the schpeal, "You understand, Annie, that if you don't finish your dinner, you won't get dessert." She shook her head with a look of understanding, and moments later, I heard Angel begin to work her bartering magic.

Angel was having a particularly difficult time finishing her dinner as well, which is also common every night, so she thought she would enlist the help of her little sister.

"Annie, if you eat the rest of my avocado, I'll share my pudding with you when I get it." The whole time she is making this deal with her, she's watching me out of the corner of her eye, well aware of the fact that Annie wasn't allowed to have dessert because she never finished her own dinner.

Accepting what she thought was the best deal in town, Annie swallowed up the pieces of avocado, putting Angel one step closer to her prize. The prize that she swallowed up without ever once offering a bite to Annie!

If Angel continues practicing her bartering techniques, she'll soon be selling oceanfront property in Arizona!