My daughter doesn't take checks...

Julia gets paid on Sundays. We decided to give her an allowance a few years ago at an huge two dollars a week. I thought she'd scoff. She was thrilled! Then she was even more thrilled when I upped it last year to four dollars a week.

Her allowance is dependent on her doing chores and cleaning up after herself. On the weeks where she makes no attempt to clean, I tend to forget to pay her. If she remembers, I'll make her clean.

Yesterday, she had cleaned up a lot of toys and had even gone through some old ones to put into storage or to give away. Laura told me to pay her.

I looked in my wallet. All I had was a twenty dollar bill.

I said, "I can't pay you."

Julia's face sank.

"Unless you have change for a twenty?"

She shook her head.

"I could write you a check?" I asked.

I was kidding, of course. Being eight, she doesn't have a bank account. I'd have to cash it for her anyway, so it would be redundant to cash a check that I wrote in my credit union when I could just withdraw the money when I'm there.

Julia wrinkled her nose and said in a very serious voice, "I don't take checks."

"Oh, you don't?" I laughed.

"No. It's cash only. Or I'll take change, too."

She's young, but she has her priorities.