Would you go for something which cost $15 when you can get it at a much lower price?

Would you let your son go for a ride on the cable car with his classmates, when he had that experience just 4+ months ago at a much cheaper rate?

Would you spend that extra amount so that you could fulfill a childhood wish?

All these questions probably sound meaningless if I didn’t give the full picture eh?

You see, the school is organizing a trip to sit on the Cable Car because its ‘transportation’ week. The aim is to let kids observe the different types of transport viewing through cable-car ride and to explore how and what make the vehicle moves.

I’m the extreme mommy when it comes to outdoor learning activity organized by the school. It’s always a GREEN light from me. Cos I know how terrible it feels when all your friends start talking about the trip on the next school day and YOU have got nothing to comment! And all you could do is sit there and look at them laughed over every single detail of it….and you are all alone sitting at that corner, feeling translucent….thinking “Damn! Why can’t I be there with them?!”

I have been through that too many times. My dad refused to sign the consent forms of any of those trips organised by the schools even when I was in Secondary School.

The only one he agreed was the trip to KuKup Village in Malaysia. That was after alot of crying and teenage whining from me PLUS my Geography Teacher’s persuasion before he finally signed his tiny little signature on that white piece of paper with the big header that reads – ‘Consent Form’.

I told myself over and over again each time my dad rejected a learning trip out of the school boundaries, “I’m NEVER gonna do that to my kids!”

And so even though I know that Keatkeat had just been in that ‘box‘ which carries him through the sky by a cable line less than 5 months ago; AND even though I know I’m paying more for him to go this time; I still said “YES” without hesitation.

This is THE FIRST TIME the school invited the family members to join!!! I have ALWAYS wished to get my butt in that ‘box’, but the miser in me said “no” when I saw the price. My sis has a discount card which gives quite a good saving off the actual amount.

And if I go, Binbin will have to follow too. When you are a Full Time SAHM, where you go, your children will follow. They are like your shadows, the only difference is they have all those cutie expressions and they definitely talk-back!

Then that would be extra cost too. The school is charging $11 for each child and $15 for each adult. So if I decide to fulfill my wish, then I’ll be paying a total of $37 for the 3 of us. Allan is afraid of heights, so he is never gonna bring me there. This seemed like the only chance for me, but I feel the pinch to give that extra, its hard to shake off that calculative-me after so many years in the retail line, where you realized the ‘real value’ of things.

The miser won. I paid $11 only for Keatkeat and he will be a happy lad on 14th Oct 2008 when he is up in the sky again.

This morning, Mdm Normah asked: “Hey Mommy, you are going with Cheng Keat for the cable car ride, right?”

“No…” I replied flatly and was going *sigh* in my heart…

“Oh! *Laugh* Cos I wrote 2 persons but only received one person’s $” She giggled.

“Ohhh…you wanted me to go huh?” I joked. And the two of us laughed so loud….

that’s how comfortable we are with each other…I think I’ll miss her next year, when she will not be teaching Keatkeat nor Binbin, ‘cos she has been assigned to Kindergarten 1 class permanently starting next year….hmmm….