Not All That Glitters is Gold

While hitting the Christmas clearance sales the other day, Sweet Terror came up to me holding this ginormous lollipop. Her eyes were big and shiny as she guardedly asked, "Mommy, can I have this?" I could tell she was too experienced to hope much, and I almost said no right away, but then I looked at the price, calculated the clearance discount, and thought, "Why not?" I said yes, and the joy that flooded that little girl's face was well worth the 25 cents and any inevitable cavities.

To everyone we encountered in the store she would proudly show her lollipop, declaring that her mom was going to buy it for her. Each time she asked me to buy a toy that she saw in the store all I had to do was remind her that she was getting a lollipop and she would smile and say, "Oh, right. I love my lollipop." She obediently waited till we returned home and ate our lunch, even eating every carrot on her plate, until it was finally time to open the luscious confectionery swirl of joy. Upon sinking her teeth into the top arch, she reeled back, spit a little and said, "Mom, it tastes like play-dough. Yucky play-dough." (Is there a yummy kind?)

Thinking it might just be a bit old I told her to give it a few more licks, you know, to get past that first wrapper scented layer of candy. She tried but could only manage one more lick before declaring that she no longer wanted it. "I'm sorry you don't like it, sweety, go ahead and throw it away."

Later that day I went in the kitchen and found her lollipop sitting on the counter. I picked it up to see why it was so yucky. It smelled more like perfume than candy, and then I noticed the tag:

Sweet Shop Fun Soap

I guess we got suckered. And I will be less likely to tell my kids to retry things they say they don't like in the future.