Children Learn What They Live
by Cappy Hall Rearick
I dashed into the Dollar Tree for one item. One bottle of Dawn Dishwashing Liquid. Thirty minutes later, I looked down at a shopping basket full of needed things that had quickly become necessary mere minutes after sashaying down Aisle One.
Hallmark cards were two for a dollar. Such a deal.
Quart size zip-lock bags? Gotta stock up.
Snicker’s in a giant bag. Babe’s favorite.
By the time I rolled the buggy with the wonky wheels up to the checkout counter, I was looking at a bit more than an uptick on my debit card. Oh well, what else is new?
A heavy-set woman was ahead of me in line, but I was in no hurry so I smiled and thought about what I was going to cook for supper. After several minutes, I noticed that the woman seemed to be having difficulty settling up for the items in her buggy. I was not sure what was going on, so I went back to trying to decide between fried pork chops or fried chicken for supper.
It was about that time that I noticed two young boys, around eleven years old, tow-headed and adorable, both grasping candy bars. They headed to the next checkout line but the cashier told them she was cashing out so they should go over to the other lane, the one I was in.
The boys were eager to pay for and eat their booty, so they switched lanes over, albeit reluctantly, to where I was waiting for the woman ahead of me to get her act together.
I told them that since they each had only the one item, to get ahead of me. They flashed me a beatific grin and zipped behind the other woman.
When I looked again at the woman still struggling to pay for her goods, I saw that she was physically challenged and perhaps mentally challenged as well. I also realized that she didn’t have enough money to pay for all the things she’d bought. She was trying to decide what to put back and what she could do without and still be able to pay for what was left.
It was at that moment when I saw the grandmother of the two boys who had been waiting near the door for them to pay for their candy. As soon as she became aware of the poor woman’s dilemma, she quickly walked over to the cashier.
“How much does she need,” she asked.
The cashier could not have looked more disinterested if she had written instructions in front of her. “A dollar and thirty cents,” she said. She sighed and rolled her eyes up to her hairline.
Granny opened her purse, took out the required amount and paid the difference. When she did that, she looked at the distressed woman and gave her a smile to match the one her grandsons had given to me.
It was a privilege for me to be in that particular space at that particular time and to be privy to such a lovely random act of kindness. All I could think was that everyone needs to do nice things for others every chance we get. We too often overlook the opportunities given to us. One of the young boys turned to me just then, smiled again and handed me a shiny quarter.
“Here,” he said. “This is for letting me go ahead of you in line.”
I wanted to hug that child, but I thanked him instead and suggested he give it to the lady having trouble paying for her stuff. His smile got even wider as he whipped around and handed the quarter to the woman. Her eyes filled with tears (as did mine) when she thanked the boy and said, “Things are not going so good in my life these days. I’m having a real hard time.”
When I looked up at Granny, the pride and love pouring from her eyes was overwhelming.
It occurred to me then that children constantly learn from what we do and that Granny had given those boys a life lesson to remember. The boy wanted to give me one off his quarters for the simple act of allowing him to get ahead of me in line. What a lovely thing to experience. I haven’t stopped smiling since.
“When children live with sharing, they learn generosity.”
