Generosity

Last week, we had one of those moments that helped us recognize that more of what we are trying to teach our kids is sinking in than we sometimes realize. Kaden received five dollars from his Aunt Misty for his birthday. Like most kids, he was excited about the money and the wheels inside of his head began turning immediately as he thought of the infinite possibilities for his new found wealth (actually the wheels in Kaden's head are constantly turning at 100 mph or more).

After a few minutes, he quickly moved on to the next activity and seemingly gave his five dollars no additional thought. A couple of days later, however, he came home from school with an announcement. Apparently, the school was having some sort of fundraiser, which prompted Kaden to reevaluate his five dollar spending spree. He decided to buy a lollipop for each member of the family. It was both entertaining and satisfying to see the big smile on his face as he proudly presented me with my lollipop as I walked in the door from work.

We are fortunate to have five wonderful boys and one of the greatest blessings is the opportunity to see their individual personalities begin to blossom. There is no doubt that they came to this earth as individuals with unique skills, talents and abilities. It is also evident that their personalities have been blessed with a rich ancestral genome of sorts. Whether it is their Grandma's genorosity, their Nana's enthusiasm, their Grandpa's empathy or their Papa's faithfulness, they all carry within them the seeds of greatness and occasionally these seeds manifest themselves in the form of a lollipop.