I am not really a collector.

I escaped all the frenzied collection trends of the terminal forty years – friendship beads, cabbage patch kids, beanie babies and webkinz are all items for which I accept avoided seeking and spending.

A few weeks ago Ryan started talking about the "animal shaped safe bands".

He was pretty certain that he would die some sort of grade school social expiry if he didn't obtain them immediately.

I was pretty sure that he wouldn't.

I remembered seeing the rubber bands in different shapes online a few months prior to his plea and thinking how stupid they were considering when you put them on your wrist the shape was inconsequential.

Yep, I tin can actually spot those trends.

Equally the days went on, Ryan became more and more than insistent that animal shaped rubber bands were a necessity.

On a day when he was especially agreeable, I said we would go to the store to see if we could observe some Silly Bandz.

Oh how naive I am.

We started at Wal-Mart who then sent u.s.a. to Hobby Lobby who so sent us to Brilliant Heaven who and then sent us to Mannerly Charlie who then sent us to Justice who then sent us to Authentication.

The wild rubber ring goose chase was on.

At first I was trying to aid Ryan and and then my competitive nature took over and I was pretty sure that if any condom band existed within a thirty mile radius of my abode and information technology had whatsoever shape at all, I was going to find it.

I might not be a collector, but I am a competitor.

I before long learned that my hometown in the suburbs of Dallas might be the capitol of competitive collectin' moms.   The more stores we visited, the more milkshake of the heads nosotros received.   Each location had a similar tale of safety band defective woe …

Nosotros had them.   A lot of them.   Only they sold out.   Good luck finding them.   We should have another shipment soon.

I decided to give up and haunt the Facebook folio of the local toy store that promised to announce the new shipment arrival.

We went down to Fort Worth the side by side twenty-four hours to visit my in-laws.   We passed a Walgreens and I asked weblog-Stedman to finish so I could run in and do one more than check for Giddy Bandz before I declared complete defeat.

They had them by the BOX.

As I sat down in the alley and placed all the fashion of bands in bully little piles so I could appraise the treasure.   My caput filled the flighty dream of ownership them all and selling them out of the back of my minivan for profit.

These things are rubber gold just 45 minutes North!

I shook myself back into reality and restrained myself. Kinda.   I bought three of each fashion not doing the math that each box contains 12 bands…that is a thousand total of 288 bands that will exist floating around my firm beingness chewed on by the cat and swallowed by the vacuum.

The boys don't know how many I accept.   I handed out a few the first day and on each day of successful summertime reading completion they earn one more band. Piffling do they know that they will exist receiving them as special treats well into their college days.

I feel a petty silly, but relieved that I am not having to talk them into murphy shaped bands…

…because what self-respecting grade school-er wears a tuber on his wrist?

Kids Activities Blog is Holly'due south blogging home.

She is the co-writer of 101 Kids Activities that are the Bestest, Funnest Ever! and The 101 Coolest Simple Science Experiments.

She is the mom of three boys ages 13, 15 & 17 who partially homeschools. She believes that you shouldn't have to buy stuff to have fun when there is a kitchen junk drawer total of possibilities.