Waste...or not?

Waste is in the eye of the beholder.

My dad's about the thriftiest guy I know, and although I'm sure Ben would appreciate a little more thrift on my part, little bits and pieces of it find their way out occasionally.  Thrift stores?  Yes!  TJ Maxx?  Any day!  Sales?  I look for 'em!  But, but, but, when I thrift or TJ Maxx or shop sales TOO OFTEN...oh dear, that's when I get into trouble.

(In my defense, I created a budget for our family (again...) and have stuck to it like glue for the past few months.  I've felt more self-disciplined than I have in a long time.)

Annie went to town with my gift wrapping stash.  She was feeling generous.  Gifts for all, FILLED to the brim with my crisp, bright tissue paper.  I'm not usually so indulgent about tissue paper.  I've developed quite a stash over the years and figured if the world was suffering from famine, I could supply every home with a year's-worth of tissue paper.  Look who's prepared!

I saw it as waste.  She saw it as FUN, imaginative play.  I gritted my teeth at first, then remembered that she hadn't asked to watch a movie or play the computer.  

Tissue paper is cheap.  Imagination is priceless.  Gift-giving turned into puppet-making, which turned into making homes out of boxes FOR the puppets, which turned into Annie becoming a bride (?) with red heels.  Her busy little hands worked for hours on one project, than another.  The boys came home and joined the party.

It felt happy in our home.  We were busy making fun together.  

I wondered why siblings fight so much (in general)?  It's ten times more fun to play than it is to fight.  On the other hand, the response is immediate when you drive someone crazy, whereas making a puppet/tissue paper villages takes time.  Something to think about.