Wii Public Service Message & More

But first, some Manic Mommy housekeeping stuff:

You’re probably wondering, and yes, Hubby did do yoga, and he was pretty good at it, even though I was better. And I’m not just saying that cuz he doesn’t read this! BTW, can you imagine knowing your spouse writes practically EVERYTHING on her blog, but you’ve got no interest in reading it? I’m kinda glad. If he read this every day, I might censor myself much, much more than I already do! Anyway, during the class, I kept thinking how cool it was for him to do something for me because he knew it was something I enjoy. It was kind of an aphrodisiac, and really, I swelled with extra love for him.

Kind of like that book, Porn for Women, the things that turn us on are completely different than the things that turn them on! Do yoga with us! Fold the laundry! Pick up your freaking towel off the floor! Ooh baby, do it to me!

Back on track here…

Thanks to everyone who sent Happy Birthday Wishes to Ajers. He had a great 10th birthday, and is loving his new Nano iPod. Speaking of the iPod, let’s talk electronics and Christmas.

When I was on my venture to find the iPod for AJ, I had called Target and reached customer service. When I asked for Electronics (so I could inquire about the iPod), the woman at customer service asked me, “Are you calling about the Nintendo Wii?”

“No, I’m calling about the iPod, but what’s up with the Wii? Why would I be asking about the Wii?”

“Well,” she explained, “We’re currently out of stock but will be getting another shipment in on Sunday.”

I never think this far in advance of Christmas, especially just coming off Tukey’s birthday in September, and AJer’s birthday two days ago, but when I heard the woman’s voice, I could tell the Wii was still a big deal.

And, I had already planned to get the kids the Wii for Christmas.

So, I began doing some research and understood that the Wii is still really popular, and stores get in just a small supply every now and then, like the trickling effect, and supply and demand, they only give out a few so the demand is still there and everyone wants one.

I had to get me a Wii. And I knew I had to do it fast, or else I’d have weeping children on Christmas day. Now, I don’t really care much about weeping children not getting what they want on Christmas, except for when they weep, it makes me weep, and scream, and yell, and want to bite my own head off. That, my friends, does not put me in the Christmas spirit.

I discovered that people line up for the Wii, still, and NOW even though Christmas is practically still two months away. Shit. I called a couple Best Buys, I talked to Wii owners, I scouted out Target. Some employees were elusive saying, “We can’t tell you if we’re getting the Wii yet, you’ll just have to look in your Sunday paper to see.” Like nanny-nanny-boo-boo, I know Wii info and you don’t. Other employees would just flat-out lie, “We’re not getting any in.” I can see why they’d say this—why cause more angst and commotion by actually telling the consumers what items they will be receiving.

I came up with a game plan.

I would get that frickin’ Wii if it killed me.

I have been cashing and saving all my work checks (thank YOU BZ! You’re paying for my kids’ Christmas!), and had a wad of cash stuck, come on, guess where I hid it? Of course it was in an envelope all the way in the back of the underwear drawer. How clever.

I set my alarm this morning for 7 AM. You KNOW I do not wake before 9:30 on the weekends. But, I got up, and by 7:30 I was in the car headed to Target. I saw a couple dad-looking guys standing in the area by the locked front doors, and thought about just sitting in my car to wait until 8:00. Fortunately, I rethought that idea, got out, and joined the four guys.

“Wii?”

“Wii.”

It was like wii were talking in code!

“Is it still as popular as ever?”

“Wii.”

The dudes standing there, who were just customers, not employees, informed me that I was number FIVE. Hey, I was OK with this, because they HAVE to get at least five Wii systems in a shipment, right?

By the time the doors were unlocked at 8:00, there were 21 of us waiting for the dang Wii. I got in, got in line and waited for the Wii Nazi… Ha, couldn’t resist that little reference to pop culture, right? Right!

Got my Wii, got an extra controller, got the service plan, got an extra game, and then I asked the lady about the Nintendo DS. “Are the DS game thingies still really popular?”

Her eyes bulged out. “Oh yes! Very.”

Shit.

“OK, got any?”

I picked up two of them for Diva and Tukey, grabbed some other electronic paraphernalia and was hyperventilating the whole time, thinking, “Oh my God, this is too much money. This is so much money for a little bit of stuff.” I was thinking of how many poor children I could feed with this amount of money, and I seriously was getting worked up over it. I was feeling guilty that they don’t need so much crap, that they have enough, and then I was also thinking, “I want them to be happy. I want them to have whatever they want because I love them so much.”

Does this make me an idiot of a mom? Am I raising them to expect to receive everything? They already know whenever they walk into Target, it’s pretty much a guarantee they’ll get a Slurpee. When we go to the grocery store, it’s pretty much a guarantee they’ll get a donut.

Am I raising ungrateful children who are going to take everything for granted and not appreciate having to work for something?

See, this is not what I had originally planned to write about. The guilt of them having everything they want. The fear that they will become ungrateful people of society, expecting to get and have and never want and need. The fear they will never know what it is to want. Because I think it’s good to feel the need to want. To always just expect that it’ll be there, whatever it is, is not the best thing.

I don’t know. I’m conflicted here. On the one hand, I’m grateful to be able to give them these things, and really, when you take the Wii, and know it is for three children (and possibly two adults!), that makes it a little less extravagant, don’t you think? One gift for three kids. A gift that will light up their eyes. A gift that will keep ‘em in the basement so I can get more work done to pay for the next big thing that they’re going to eventually want and ask for and get. See, it’s like a vicious circle now.

I just want them to grow up and be thankful for what they have. To know that it’s not like this everywhere, and sometimes they’re going to have to be disappointed in life, to appreciate when the good things come their way.

But not this Christmas.

Because I got the Wii, I got the Wii!

And this is really a public service message to any of you who are thinking you might get the Wii for your family this Christmas, because if there were 21 of us camping out to get this product TWO MONTHS before Christmas, I don’t even want to think of what shopping will be like after Thanksgiving! At least I can rest easy knowing that the major bulk of Christmas for my kids is handled! Now, if I can only make sure they’re not going to grow up to be ungrateful beasts!

Have your kids started making their lists yet?