At times, Callum can both amaze me and freak me out. And he’s only 2 years old!

Basically… he stole two coins from his grandpa’s bedside table on the weekend. He brought them home and hid them in his treasure box under his bed. Then today as we were getting ready to do our weekly grocery shopping, he took the coins out and put them in his pocket.

He waited till the end of the whole grocery expedition, then as we walked back to the car, past the Thomas the Tank Engine ride, he said “Mummy! Thomas ride please! Look I got Gong Gong money!”

…

It all started the moment he first sat on one of those $2 shopping centre kiddy rides - yeah, the kind that takes money. His face and eyes sparkled with a childlike happiness that made me all weepy and want to have SEVEN children.

Of course, I would never put any money into them. It was enough entertainment as a climbing thing. Whether it was a dolphin, horse, jeep, truck, or train… he danced with excitement, bounced with joy, and wiggled with glee. He’d spend ages climbing around, up and down, poking and prodding, turning steering wheels, pushing pedals, exploring, sitting and there was always lots of bouncing.

But of course, it all ended the moment Gong Gong (Grandpa) taught him how to put money into the ride. Suddenly a new dimension had unfolded. There were lights, music, sounds, and movement! Who needed an imagination? Every trace of active and creative playtime was gone. It was replaced by the delicious, reckless, short-lived thrill of insatiable two year old exhilaration.

Now Callum climbs up into a ride and demands money. Even before he KNEW HOW TO SPEAK, he would point at my purse and jam his fingers into the coin slot.

Thus began the “Oh dear, mummy doesn’t have any money!”

Which slowly turned into “Only Gong Gong can make it work!”

And until today, it was “Sorry, we can only use Gong Gong’s money!”

…

Too bad he only stole 30 cents.

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