Workin' it

On most Saturday mornings we find ourselves heading to the bank. We actually use two different banks. One is for our personal finances, the other, for our company. The girls may or may not know what we do at each bank, but they do know what each bank gives them for sitting in the backseat of our vehicle while we are making deposits.

Each bank has a slightly different drive thru set up. At one bank, we use the business lane. Here, you are parallel to the bank teller's window. The girls can easily see the teller and most importantly, the teller can see them. They are usually rewarded with balloons at this bank. I am extra thankful when the balloons are the same color and a fight over a particular color is avoided.

The second bank has an odd set up. Instead of being parallel to the tellers, you pull in facing them head on. This drive thru is set up under the actual bank so it is always shaded and dark. There is also quite some distance between the tellers and the customers. It is because of this dark, lengthy, odd set up that my children have had to resort to pageantry tactics to attract and wow their audience. They call it "The Smile and Wave".

What started out as a nice little surprise during bank visits, has become a much sought after reward for my children. We pull up to the bank and before I have the window down, the girls whip off their seat belts and are leaning over the front seat donning their brightest smiles and doing their best royal waves at the unsuspecting bank tellers. They remind each other to "smile and wave, smile and wave". They are a team in this. Each one responsible for the ultimate success of the much sought after cotton candy flavored dum dums.

The joy they get from these treats is so sweet. I mean, they are genuinely excited over tiny suckers and balloons (that they usually don't even bother to inflate). BUT...if for some reason, my girl's efforts are not properly acknowledged, and they get snubbed by those haughty tellers, things go downhill quickly. The "smile and wave" and all the enthusiasm that goes along with it, is immediately replaced with scowls, narrowed eyes, crossed arms, and tongues sticking out.

Oh, the dramatic mood changes of my darling daughters. I can hardly handle it so early on a Saturday morning. Then I have to scold them for sticking their tongues out. That is followed with the "Be thankful, don't have expectations, you really don't need candy this early in the morning" speech. Which leads to the total lack of response from my naughty children.

On a recent Saturday morning, Eric and I found ourselves at the bank, alone. We were groggy and may have been suffering the effects of some sort of overindulgence. After sending our deposit in the magic tube, the teller came over the intercom and inquired to the whereabouts of our children. We were so surprised. The fact that she even remembered our girls made us laugh. Later in the day, after we had collected our children, we shared this story with them. The result was expected. "You went to the bank withOUT US? Did she give you candy for us anyway? No Fair!"