Keep the change

Alan and I went out to eat tonight. I had a very painful day, and so he suggested we eat out. Isn't he a sweetheart?

You all won't believe this, I find it hard to believe myself, but I fell asleep at my computer last night. Alan came into my office around 11 p.m. and there I was with my arms folded over the keyboard and my head on my arms and I was out. He had a difficult time waking me. I don't even remember turning off the computer, but he said I was awake enough to do that.

But, that has nothing to do with the topic, "Keep the change."

That remembrance came about after dinner. We both wanted dessert, but let's face it, Barleycorns doesn't have the best desserts in the world, so we opted for Graeter's instead. After we placed our order, Alan handed me a $20 bill to give to the cashier. When I was handed back the change, I said to Alan, "I get to keep the change, right?" He said, "No." I said, "My father always let me keep the change," and pouted a bit.

You see where I'm going with this?

When I was younger there were two ways I could "keep the change" when I went shopping with or for my father. If he sent me down to Joe's to get ice-cream for himself, me, and my mom (imagine carrying three ice-cream cones) he would let me keep the change. Sometimes it was a nickle, sometimes it was a lot more than that, depending on the denomination of the bill he gave me to give to Joe.

When I would go shopping WITH my father and he would hand me a bill to give to the cashier, I would look at him, bat my longer-than-they-are-now eyelashes, and ask: "Can I keep the change?" My father ALWAYS answered, "Yes."

Any other siblings have that experience?