I was ten years old and had won a gift certificate at a local shopping mall through a little kids' contest. Mom had decided not to come and cheer me on even though her office was one block from the mall and the event was at lunchtime, so I signed myself up. It was just an ice cream eating contest but I took first place.

That evening Mother chewed me out because I spent the gift certificate. I explained the situation three times but she she just kept shuttling between an idea that I should have deposited it in my savings account and anger that I had used it to buy a novelty decorative candle.

The next day her parents came to visit and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Doublestitch had $10 and she wasted it!"

It took my grandparents half an hour to explain to her that gift certificates can't be deposited into a savings account.

By the time that was sorted out everybody was too exhausted to congratulate me on the win. It was a trivial little kids' contest but somehow I'm still salty.