A gratuitous gratuity


I had to go to Sip and Ship to print out more mortgage documents today, so the girls accompanied me up there, Destroyer walking and La Serpiente ok a scooter. When we got there, I knew it would take a while to print things off, so I gave La Serpiente a twenty dollar bill and asked her to get me a coffee.
She had learned from last week to ask for a latte rather than just a coffee, but not to specify the size yet, so we have to work on that. Eventually, I got my coffee. And no change.

My daughter had put sixteen dollars in the tip jar, which is generous, even these days when baristas get a bit extra. I had to explain to her all about how some things deserve tipping and others (manual labour, supermarkets, accountancy) don’t, but I think what most confused her was that change isn’t just coins, but that paper has some value too.

Maybe I should have contextualised it for her by telling her the money left over was what we needed to buy ice cream with, rather than making her ferret fifteen dollars back out of the tip jar …

The rest of the day we didn’t spend ludicrous amounts on anything, and my new shoes arrived in the mail. And the electrician came back and fixed our house so the lights turn on again, which is nice. Onwards!


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