The kids and
I had ran to the store this afternoon for stencils for a cub scout
project. When we were leaving a
gentleman approached us in the parking lot asking if I could spare any money so
he could buy a meal. I had the kids get
into the car while I looked in my purse and pulled out two dollars. I handed it to the gentleman and he thanked
me graciously and walked away. As we
drove off I silently wished him well and hoped that the money was indeed needed
for good things. I had been scammed
before and sadly it made me skeptical of people, a feeling I didn't like. On the drive home Cort asked me if the man
was poor. I tried my best to explain to
Cort that the man did indeed seem to need money for something but we have no
idea if he is indeed poor and that money is not necessarily a measure of
someone's wealth. I told him that I was
more than happy to help the man by giving him the two dollars I had in my purse
and hopefully other people would be generous as well and little by little the
man would be able to find what it is that he needs. Cort asked me why I didn't give him
more. He remembered that last night we
sold our large trampoline in our backyard - the buyers had paid us in
cash. I gently told him that although I
would love to be able to give the man that money, WE need that money in order
to pay our bills, and buy us food. He
thought about this for a few minutes. Then he said, "but mom, we have a
house and food, he has nothing and he is walking around a parking lot. Shouldn't we give him the money?" My son's logic made sense and I felt
bad. I was so proud of Cort for thinking
of others. I wanted so badly to turn the
car around, find the gentleman and let Cort give him the money, but I couldn't
do it, our finances wouldn't allow it.
Plus how do you know that he is an honest man, down on his luck and not
someone trying to scam somebody to make a quick buck? It is awful that you have to think that
way. Of course I couldn't tell Cort any
of these thoughts going through my head.
I hope that my two dollar contribution to a stranger for some food
helped to teach my son a valuable lesson about giving back. No, it wasn't a ridiculous amount of money,
but to the gentleman who needed it, I don't think it mattered. He was grateful for the kindness of a
stranger. Cort wasn't the only one who learned a lesson
today. The whole thing made me think
too. If everyone in this world would
show a little kindness towards one another, imagine what we could
accomplish. If Cort, at eight years old
understood that this man was in need more than us why can't adults help others
when they need it? Why does everything
have to be so complicated?
