Trading Up

We just got a new car. In the immortal words of the 80's, "It's sweeeet." Leather seats, dvd player, swiveling headlights, moon roof, loads of fun. So far it only has 358 miles on it, but I add a few more each day as I drive my daughter to and from pre-school. We briefly considered trading in the car we purchased when our now pre-schooler was born, but decided to keep it around for a bit longer.

In fact, I've noticed that trading-in and trading-up seem to be a pattern that is common, and not just with cars. A friend of mine finally got the wedding ring of her dreams after years of marriage, another is building their dream house, and while don't know anyone personally, certainly I've heard of people trading old spouses for newer models.

Which brings me to a recent conversation at my house.

"Mom, I want to trade you."

"You want to trade me?"

"Yea, I want to trade you for that one mom."

"You want to trade me for which mom?"

"I want to trade you for that mom with the three girls--you know, the youngest one with curls."

"You want to trade me for Mrs. Brady."

"YES! I want Mrs. Brady to be my mom!"

She continued to explain that I could be the mom to Mrs. Brady's kids and Mrs. Brady could be her mom. I was never able to get a good explanation out of her as to why she wanted Mrs. Brady to replace me, but my hunch is she's tired of my sneaking all the Oreo's when she's at school. I'm sure Mrs. Brady never did that. Alice did.