I Have a Coupon For That.

I think giving coupon books as gifts is a big fat cop-out.

I remember giving them to my Mom and Dad as a present for Mother's Day/Father's Day/Every Other Holiday in Existence.

I remember truly stressing over what I was willing to commit to.
"This coupon good for one________________"
One what? (THINK!!!)
One...uh, dishwasher unload.
Yes! That will be fairly easy!
And now there are only...NINE COUPONS to go?
Nine?!
NINE? This could take me allllll day.
One day, I noticed a real coupon in a mailer.
It had an expiration date.
AND RESTRICTIONS!
"Coupon cannot be combined with any other coupon..."
You can do that?
Stipulations??!!
Yesssss!
So from that point on my coupons had limitations.
"This coupon good for one cleaning up after dinner." (Fine print: unless I have lots of homework (loophole), and not valid on nights when Dad makes fried chicken, (cause HAZMAT can't even take that on.) Coupon expires in One Day.)

Never once did my Mom or Dad cash any of those suckers in.
Does anyone?
Has anyone in the history of EVER cashed in homemade coupons?

Now I am on the receiving end of the coupons.

They have the kids make coupon booklets in school.
I totally get it, it is cheap, and the kids can practice writing, blah, blah.
I have a box full of good intentions given to me by my children.

One year, Shianne filled out all of her coupons.
Apparently the teacher asked them to commit to service that can be done in 20 minute increments.
"This coupon good for 20 minutes of You Going to the Mall Without Us Kids"
"This coupon good for 20 minutes of Me Practicing the Piano"
Hold on.
What was that last one?
The piano?
We don't have a piano, and you don't know how to play one.
"Well," she said, "that is what Amy wrote."

I don't even get personal good intentions.
I get copied good intentions.

Are kids getting smarter?
Mikayla has really aced the whole coupon/commitment dilemma.

I got a coupon book from her for Christmas this year.
She is in the second grade.
Originally the book had several coupons.
She tore out all but three, and painstakingly filled them in.

Coupon number one read "This coupon good for: ONE SMILE."
Coupon number two "This coupon good for 20 minutes of: ME COLORING FOR YOU."
Number three:"This coupon good for: ME EATING YOUR COOKIES."