This is my daughter. She is only twelve, but today she gave me one of those proud parent moments that I will never forget.
We are on vacation and since the day we got here she has had a five dollar bill burning a hole in her pocket. Every time we passed a shop she asked if she could buy something and I kept telling her not to waste her money.
Today we stopped at the boardwalk. I was inside a coffee shop ordering drinks for me and my wife when my daughter walked in. She looked at me and asked, “Dad, can I give my five dollars to a homeless person?” Without thinking I chuckled and said no. What I didn’t realize at that moment was that just across from the coffee shop there was a homeless woman sitting alone. She wasn’t asking for money. She was just there, quiet, looking tired and sad.
As we walked away my daughter asked me why I laughed when she asked about giving the woman her money. That question hit me. I apologized and told her I honestly had not noticed the woman sitting outside. We continued walking along the boardwalk and the whole time she never once asked again about spending her money.
On our way back, the woman was still sitting there. I looked at my daughter and told her yes, you can give her your five dollars. She smiled and said she was glad I told her not to spend it before, because now it could go to someone who needed it more. She hoped it would help the woman get something to eat.
When we walked past again on our way out, the woman gave my daughter a small wave of thanks. My daughter quietly waved back. There was no bragging, no announcement to the world of what she had done. Just humility and kindness in its purest form.
I told her she had done a good thing and that it takes a big heart to see someone in need and act on it. Kids have this incredible way of reminding us that humanity still has hope. What they learn from us becomes part of them, and sometimes, they end up teaching us in return.
Credit Greg Peterson