I was invited to a little girl’s birthday party this week, so I knew it was important to get the gift right. She’s a real pistol, who is social and filled to the brim with sass. So I got her a box of rocks and a shovel.

Back in early summer, she saw Bob doing some landscaping and said in her little voice, “mr bob, I’m going to help you!” After she had been helping for quite some time, I let her mom know (they live down the street) that she was doing a good job landscaping. Her mom was like, “the same girl who won’t clean her room??”

She worked with Bob for a surprisingly long time, and didn’t want to be done when the work was finished.

So for her birthday I got her a little trowel of her own, and a pencil case full of the decorative glass pebbles that go in the bottom of candles and such.

When she opened her presents at the party she was so excited for every present, screaming with joy with each new surprise. I did get a little nervous. But she opened her present from us and screamed, “my own shovel!!!!!” And “my own rocks!!!!” So I think it worked out. She took the shovel out into the yard and started digging immediately. You never can tell with kids. It made her mom laugh, which is also a relief!