To Buy Or Not to Buy

Now that we are in our new house, we are finding that it is time to buy a bunch of new things. Not, that we have the money mind you, but we want to buy those items we need and replace the ones in need of replacing.

One item that we wanted to get it a desk for my son. Now that we have more space, we would like him to get into the habit of doing homework in his room. My mother-in-law made the very generous offer of wanting to buy something for us. My wife and I know that living in an assisted living program, she needs to be careful with her money. My mother-in-law said she would like to buy a desk for her grandson.

My wife and I actually thought this would be perfect. First of all, it is the cheapest of the items we were getting. This is not to suggest it is cheap, but the other items were probably about three times more expensive. We also figured Grandma would be thrilled to buy something for her grandson and that her grandson would be thrilled to have his grandmother buy this for him. It sounded to easy. It was!

My mother-in-law wanted to see the desk before we bought it. She is still in rehab and unable to walk. We want to get the furniture taken care of as soon as possible so we can have what we need. When my wife explained this, Grandma was not happy. We offered to take a picture, to let her come over and see it as soon as she was released from rehab, to try and make all sorts of accommodations. These were not to Grandma’s liking and she just yelled, “Never Mind,” so my wife and I figured we would pay for it ourselves.

Today, my wife, son and I went out to look at the furniture and buy what we needed. We bought the desk for our son, a desk he said he really liked. After this, my son and I went to visit Grandma. She asked what we did today and we told her about our shopping expedition. She asked me if my wife took the money for my son’s desk out of Grandma’s account. I was not sure what to say so I told her I didn’t know. Apparently, the desire to buy the desk is now back on and she wants to reimburse us for the desk and asked us to take a picture of the desk so she could see it (which of course we will do). I just do not understand why my wife did not suggest that in the first place.

In all seriousness, it would have been a lot easier on everyone if Grandma has said this when my wife did suggest it. Still, in the end, Grandma came through and it is appreciated.