Life According to Kiera: Cookies And A Snack

Written by Rowonna McNeely – Well, it’s that time again… it’s Girl Scout cookie season. I know you have seen the girls at their booths or walking around selling cookies. In fact, Saturday, Kiera and I had our Girl Scout shirts on and were walking across a parking lot to meet our troop and take our turn selling cookies. 

As we walked, I heard a man behind us say, “Girl Scouts.”  The lady that was with him, replied, “They are everywhere!”

I couldn’t help but laugh. It’s true.

Last week, I picked Kiera up from school so that she could make a few rounds to sell cookies. Our first stop was a bank that Kiera had sold at last year.

As we pulled into the parking lot, I glanced in the rearview mirror and quizzed her. “What do you ask?”

She met my eyes in the mirror, smiled and said, “Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?”

“Very good.” I responded as I put the truck in park. I was very proud of her. She used to ask, “Would you like some Girl Scout cookies?”  I was always a little afraid that some one would tease her, expecting her to give them the cookies since she frequently left out the word ‘buy’.

“And how much is a box?” I continued quizzing as I unbuckled my seat belt.

“4 dollars!” She quickly responded.

“Good job!” I commended her as we stepped out of the truck and headed into the bank.

Sometimes it’s hard for the girls to sell cookies. Not because people won’t buy them, but because they get tired. Kiera is no exception. Once she gets out of school, there is a certain window of time before she gets tired and when worse comes to worse… she crashes.

As the fourth ‘customer’ perused the Girl Scout cookie list, Kiera leaned in to me and whispered, “I’m hungry.”

“Ok, sweetie. We will get you a snack after we leave here.” I quietly reassured her.

Kiera glanced up and smiled briefly as someone else wandered up to look over her list. She then leaned into me again, glanced around and whispered, “I’m really hungry.”

I glanced to make sure no one was paying attention to us, leaned down to Kiera and tried to quietly reassure her. “Honey, I know you are hungry… but we are in a bank. They don’t have food. I promise as soon as we finish here we will go get you a snack.”

She sighed quietly. Its times like that I wonder what goes through her mind. Does she expect me to rap my knuckles on the countertop and ask if anyone has food in their drawer?

Everyone finished placing their order with Kiera and she and I went out to the truck to fill them. Excited that she did not have to stand still anymore, Kiera helped fill the bags and ran them back and forth to the ones who had bought cookies.

“You did great!” I praised her as we headed back to the truck. “I’m proud of you for telling them the totals and handing out what they bought.”

“Thank you.” She replied, glowing from the praise.

“I know where we can go now!” She exclaimed, opening the truck door.

“We can go to Mr. Williams office! He has snacks!” She paused and then added. “We can sell cookies to them while we are there.”

I quietly snickered. Mr. Williams is our insurance agent. Last year we stopped at his office to sell cookies to him, Mr. Kris and the other staff. While we were there, they plied Kiera with snacks. When we went to leave, they made sure to tell Kiera to stop by anytime, to visit and have a snack.

I had forgotten but she remembered.

We pulled into the State Farm parking lot and Kiera bounded out of the truck. She made one sale and then Mr. Kris came out of his office. He sat down by Kiera, looking over the cookie flyer.

“Would y’all like some water?” He asked.

Kiera glanced at me and then back to Mr. Kris. Smiling, I mouthed to Kris,  “Snacks.”

Glancing at Kiera, I saw him put the pieces together. “Of course!” He said standing up. “Let’s go see what we can find.”

I watched as Kiera trailed after him. A few minutes later she returned with a bottle of water and two packages of fruit snacks. Content, she settled down at one of the desks as Kris talked to her about the cookies he wanted to order.

As they discussed what cookies were their favorites, I made a mental note to pack snacks in the truck for future cookie sale days.

Don’t forget to support your local Girl Scout troops. The money they raise goes to help charities and organizations in their local community. It also teaches the girls valuable lessons about business, finances and reaching their goals. And if one of these girls looks at you like she is in dire need of a snack, rest assured, I have some stashed!

Thank you for sharing in our weekly journeys. If you have missed any of our past stories, check out our new blog page at www.lifea2k.net or drop us a line at lifea2k@yahoo.com.