The Price is Right

When we were little we would arrive home from school just in time to catch the tail-end of The Price is Right. As a 10 year old mine I was always completely excited when the contestant had the opportunity to win a new car or trip and completely sad for the poor sap who got the new couch or appliance. I just couldn't imagine why you would be excited about something so boring.

In my first year of teaching I brought in an episode of The Price is Right to talk about probablity. One of the first prizes was a couch and a girl in my class immediately said with a sense of disgust "Oh, it's just a stupid couch. I don't know who would want to win a dumb couch."

Funny how positions can change. I was 10 years older than my student, living on my own, with roommates and paying my own bills. In our living room was a hand me down couch that had a piece of plywood under the cushions. It was really uncomfortable but better than sitting on the floor and I realized in that moment that winning a new couch wasn't so bad. In fact it was exciting. I would like to win a new couch. I would jump up and down on stage and try my hardest to win that beautiful new, comfortable couch. I would paint the walls to match if I needed to. I would like a new couch. At that time I would have liked a new couch more than say a new car, because I needed a couch and I knew it would be a while before I could afford one.

On my fridge is a list titled "Jen's expensive wish list" and until recently I had new van floor mats on it. When we bought our van it was gently used and came with floor mats made for a truck. They never fit properly. They have a big lip that sticks up 2 inches around all the ends. People are always triping on the lip. They are shaped differently than the space they are in and needed the extra ends shoved under seats and around the molding. The truth is that they look junky and made our van look junky. I truly hate them but there really wasn't anything wrong with them in terms of function. Yes, they caught the water and there was always a question of need vs want. Do we need new floor mats or is that a bad use of money? Do we need new shower curtains just because I don't like the colour of them? I can never convince myself to spend the money when the only real problem is that I don't like them. So I suffer in dislike everytime I look at these things I hate but don't replace.

My dad saw my list and surprised me with new floor mats for my birthday. He went to the dealership and ordered them special for me and I just finished installing them. And I love them. I love them so much. They fit. They lay flat. They aren't an ugly faded black colour but a beautiful tan colour. I'm so happy. I feel... I feel like I just won the car on The Price is Right. Thanks for the floor mats Dad!