From the Heart
Cabbage Patch Dolls, Hatchimals and Fingerlings, Oh my!
Yes it is THAT time of year when parents and grandparents work themselves into a tizzy trying to find that perfect, yet impossible-to-find gift.
It’s the one that the kids’ television stations broadcast over and over, hypnotizing the little ones into believing this is the “must have” toy of the season. We all know that we cannot always rely on Santa.
And so begins our quest to get our hands on “the toy” that manufacturers seem unable to keep up with the needed production. I wonder who decides just what toy is the “must have” toy.
This year it’s The Fingerling.
I had no idea what it was until Emily sent me a picture of one in a text message and said, “You need to find this!”
So where did I look? Facebook.
I immediately got a response from several moms. Good luck finding one.
So I turned to my friend Shelley. Shelley is like the detective who can find just about anything.
She went to the Facebook Marketplace. BINGO!
She found a lady who had one. The mission that I chose to accept would take me into a gated community in Fishers. Honestly, I felt like I was making a drug deal.
I was to go to an address and find the Fingerling in a Walmart bag on a porch. As I slowly searched for the address I hoped someone wasn’t thinking I was casing the neighborhood.
When I found the house, I was to leave the cash under the mat. I looked for the surveillance camera. Should I wave and say “thank you”? What if the neighbors thought I was stealing a package?
I was so nervous but I was a determined grandma. Of course, I was paying twice what they actually cost. Unlike the Hatchimal of last year, it was only $30. The Hatchimal had an extortion price of over $100 last year.
I grabbed the bag and made a quick getaway.
Even this grandma has her limits. No, Leah did not receive a Hatchimal last year. But this year I accomplished my mission. Leah will receive a Fingerling.
What is a Fingerling? I suggest you Google it. Imagine a small plastic monkey that sits on your finger and reacts to being talked to and petted. It will laugh, make monkey sounds, burp, fart and blink its eyes.
Leah will be happy. And as every grandparent knows, if our grandkids are happy . . . we are happy.
And somewhere there is a tape of a grandmother waving and saying thank you to a stranger that will forever remain a mystery.