Lobster truths

Less than an hour after I had confirmed for Ryan that Jesus was, indeed, real, and does, indeed, still live inside our hearts, I accidentally revealed a much less pleasant truth to my son.

We were in Vons shopping for Thanksgiving ingredients. We spend a lot of time in stores these days talking not only about what we can afford and what we can't but also about value. At the same time, Ryan is learning how to read prices. Understanding that they are dollars and cents, not just a random combination of numbers. We had been doing a lot of this yesterday, reading prices, talking about the value of the item and whether we really needed something or just wanted something. In the spice aisle, there were these attractive tins of spice rubs with very lively designs on the top. We picked up each one and appreciated the picture and we talked about what the spices were, Greek in one, Cajun in another and how they are used to flavor chicken. I agreed with Ryan that the tins were quite nice but I didn't think we needed to pay $8 for one. And he understood.

In the meat department, as we approached the seafood section, Ryan said, Look, Mom, there's the lobster fish tank. (This should have been a clue to me.) Ryan saw a big sign with the price and read it correctly: $14.99. We can afford that can't we, Mom? That's pretty expensive, I said. Do you want to have lobster some day? Yes. I'm not sure you'd like it if I cooked one, I said, still clueless. And my son says in shock: People EAT lobsters?

And then I got it. Lobster fish tank. Ryan thought we could afford to pay $14.99 for a pet lobster.