Climbing the social ladder.

I remember when I was about 7 that all I really wanted was one of those stupid plastic charm necklaces. My mother simply refused to understand the life or death nature of owning one of these priceless gems.

It took me a year, but she finally broke down and I was the last child in the free world to own one. The next day, it was like everyone decided they weren't cool any more and quit wearing them.

Isn't that they way all trends go?

For my kids, it is the silly banz. Rubber bands cut into different shapes that you wear on your arm.

The kids' friends took pity on my children and donated the ones they didn't like to Prince and Princess and they were treasured as though they were made of gold. Like my mother, I can't believe that rubber bands are selling for $10 because they are dyed and shaped like little animals, but I also remember wanting to belong. It seemed so simple and yet unattainable all at the same time.

So I ordered the coolest authentic bandz I could find. For Princess, she got the rock and roll collection. Twenty-four bands that screamed coolness, teenager and ultimate silly bandz glory.

For Prince, it was the fantasy collection so he could have a dragon. Turns out the Phoenix has more "kid value" since no one in his school has one yet. And for ultimate trading action, the unicorn and fairy shapes glow in the dark.

I was hoping to keep it a secret and surprise them, but after a week of begging and pleading for me to take them to the store so they could buy some, I broke down and showed them what I had ordered. They were instantly happy and fought who got to check the mailbox for the next three days.

How could this possibly go wrong?

Princess bandz came in first... and Prince was devastated. She carefully counted them out and endearingly stroked each design. Prince just watched with anger filling his young face. I tried to assure him, but he just wanted to know when his were coming. Turns out that he had already told one of the "cool" kids what he was getting and she called him a liar. He just wanted to prove her wrong. Princess offered her cool bandz and Prince refused. He did not want to go to school without the bandz he swore he was getting.

The next day (the longest school day in the history of recorded time) his bandz come and there was light at the end of the tunnel. It was his turn to inspect each one for the status perfection they were about to bring him in the world of middle school. When I dropped him off at school this morning, he had carefully sorted the bandz on his arm into the ones he wouldn't trade and the ones he wanted to make sure everyone saw.

It was a good morning.