The other night as I was doing the dishes, I heard bits and pieces of Ted’s conversation with the kids. Usually the after-dinner dialogue is mellow, family members preparing for bedtime at the end of a busy day, maybe some silliness or quiet time.
But as I turned off the water I heard Ted say to one of the girls:
Hers cost 1 cent and yours cost 2 cents…
Then I caught a snippet of Michaela saying
Don’t you want to clean your teeth?!
Later on she said
Mine is mango fruit and it costs $1. Will you buy mine?
I stepped away from the dishes and into the living room where I discovered that Ted was teaching them about simple supply and demand economics. Apparently the girls were each trying to sell him something. Michaela’s was apple (she heard once that apples clean your teeth) and Abigail’s was mango. But then, I guess when she learned that Ted wanted mango, Michaela changed her product. They also were changing their prices to compete with each other, since Ted would only buy the best deal.
As I left the living room the girls were now trying to sell their father imaginary ice cream and tea product lines. I overheard Ted saying
I can’t eat ice cream…Tea I’m interested in…Tell me about your tea…
