Being Generous
This kid is not a morning person…look at those sleepy eyes. I snapped this picture because you can never have too many pictures of your kids, am I right?
During our morning commute to school, all of eight minutes, the car is typically quiet. She is staring out the window with that glazed over half-asleep expression and I am being blinded by the super nova sun because my sunglasses are on the dining table…not in my car. It’s not the best set-up for quality conversation.
We pull up behind the line of cars and before I know it, the mini van door opens and she scrambles out of the car waving her little hand behind her. I shout to her, “I love you, have a wonderful/marvelous/fantastic day,” and her whole face lights up then she rushes into school.
I drive off and leave a piece of my heart behind, and it is still the hardest part of my day. I have to trust she will be just fine all day without me there to guide and protect her. I know deep down she will be safe and loved, but there are times those doubts creep in and I wonder…
What if some kid is mean to her or makes fun of her?
What if she gets left out or picked last?
What if some kid doesn’t want to be her friend?
How can I prepare my daughter for situations like these? How can I teach her to be secure in who she is and most importantly how can I show her she is and always will be good enough?
I have decided to choose one virtue/value per week and talk about it with her. I’ve learned mornings are not ideal for those talks, and after school all she cares about is two things: snacks and Xbox. But last night on the way home from work, I turned off the radio and talked to my kid about being generous. A big word for a six year old, but by the end of our talk I felt like she got it so I asked her one last question…”If you have two cookies and your friend has two cookies, but there is one cookie left in the box and you want it, what is the generous thing to do?” She thought for a minute and then said, “We can split the cookie in three pieces so I can have a piece, my friend can have a piece and mommy you can have a piece.”
I was not expecting that answer, and yeah it would be most generous to give the entire cookie to her friend, but I was still immensely proud of her answer.
I believe this is just the beginning of many quality mother/daughter conversations and I am so glad I am starting now.