Mark is tenacious. He ignores you when you say no and goes along like he either didn't hear you or he's convinced you don't mean it.
How did this happen? I feel like I'm in a losing battle.
Awhile ago we were at Target. Mark saw a display about a media trade in program. They offered "as much as $30" for a video game. He quickly found what he would spend the $30 on in the store--the obvious first step--then he went through the catalog in his mind of video games we own. He decided to trade in Just Dance.
I bought Just Dance several years ago for a Christmas present. I thought they'd like it. No one did. I don't think Just Dance ever got a fair shake though because it was one of the Christmases that everyone was throwing up and everyone was in more of a Just Lay Here and Try Not to Die mood than a Just Dance mood.
So Mark was convinced Target would give him $30 for our unwanted Just Dance game. He told me you could also go online to trade in. So I went online when we got home. I looked up Just Dance. They didn't want it. I told Mark. Do you think he believed me?
No, he did not.
Because what do I know?
It had been enough time that I'd forgotten all about the Just Dance trade in. Mark had not. He kept asking me when the next trip to Target was going to be. I like Target as much as the next girl and I did need to go so on Tuesday, before Mark's piano lesson, we went to Target. I didn't know why Mark was so interested in going to Target until I noticed as we walked in the store that he was carrying Just Dance.
"They don't want it," I told him, "I looked it up online and they don't want it."
"We'll see," Mark said. "I can ask, can't I?"
"Yes," I conceded. I went to customer service to make a return and Mark headed back to the electronics area to get $30 for Just Dance.
When I was done, I joined him and he still had it in his hand. "They didn't want it?" I asked.
"No," he said, "I asked a lady and she said something but I didn't understand."
"Fine," I said, I had been determined to not get sucked into this endeavor but...I said, "I'll ask someone."
A guy told me that the media trade in person would be there at noon. It was 11:35.
"Perfect," Mark said, "we can wait."
"Really?" I said.
"Yes," Mark said then he led me down an aisle and showed me what he was going to spend his $30 on.
"They're not going to give you $30," I said, "It's an old game. They don't want it."
"Well," he said, undeterred, "If they give me $25, I will get this instead."
"They don't want the game," I said.
It didn't matter. Mark said, "Don't you have other shopping? Let's get everything else done and then it will be noon."
So we did.
At 11:55, shopping done, we were at the ready at the electronics counter. I knew that the only way Mark would give up would be to hear from them that they didn't want the game.
We found the media trade-in guy. He looked over the game. He looked at the disc. "It's not scratched," he remarked.
(No scratches happen when nobody liked the game in the first place.)
He looked the game up on his computer. "Hmmm, I can't find it here," he said.
Mark appeared unconvinced.
"Umm. Maybe I'll call someone and see if we take this game," he said.
He got off the phone and Mark was looking at him expectantly. "We don't take this game," the man said, "It's a really old version. I'm sorry."
Mark's shoulders slumped but I was a Very Nice Mother and didn't utter an I told you so.
"You could try Game Stop," the man said, "It's close by."
Mark brightened. "Thank you," he said, taking his game back.
I sort of felt like kicking the media trade-in guy in the shins.
"Let's go to Game Stop," Mark said.
"I'm hungry," I said, "Let's have lunch and then we have your piano lesson."
"If we eat fast," Mark said, "We can go to Game Stop."
I relented because there was not going to be any peace. I could tell. We shared a $5 footlong at Subway and Mark made sure we didn't linger over it any longer than necessary. Then we walked down along the storefronts to Game Stop. Mark chattered away about all of the games he was going to get in exchange for Just Dance.
"We don't have time," I cautioned. "It's time for your piano lesson soon. You can trade it in for store credit."
Mark marched up to the counter and handed over his game. The Game Stop guy opened it. "It's not scratched," he said.
Well, no. It wouldn't be. It had seen more action that afternoon than it's whole previous life combined.
"I'll give you $3," the Game Stop guy said.
"OK," Mark said enthusiastically.
He walked out of the store with a gift card to Game Stop worth $3.
I told Adam the story. "The good news," I said, "Is that the gift card takes up less space than the game nobody ever played."
Adam agreed with me.
It's important to see a silver lining. Like I'm hoping tenacity is a trait that will help my sons to do more than just wear their mother down until she begs for mercy.
In case you're curious about Emma's tenacity, here she is showing her brothers what she did at practice last night. Wall sits with someone sitting on her legs.
Braeden said, "Now let me try sitting on your legs."
Emma (wisely) said, "No, that would kill me."
Tenacity coupled with wisdom. Emma for the win.
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