Our older girls are pretty generous little girls, although they both have their quirks. Leanna historically has been super good about giving stuff away - to younger siblings or "kids who need them more" or whomever, as long as she's done with them. Abby is the opposite; she loves her things with such intensity that she's willing to share while she has them, but she cannot bear to give things away unless she can "visit them". Generally this means giving them to her little sister, or to the daycare when we attended on a regular basis.
Leanna's mom is a manager at a home for victims of domestic violence. This has led Leanna to have sympathy for said victims. And Abby's Brownie Scout status has her aware of people in need; the Scouts do canned food drives and the like as well as Operation Cookie Drop.
When they wanted to sell drawings they had done this morning, I told them they could not charge money, but they could ask for donations. And they were not to bug anyone, but if someone asked what they were doing with their sketchpads and pens by the mailbox, well, they could go ahead and say that they were giving away drawings and they were taking donations. No knocking on doors (that's what Leanna called "solicitating") and no nagging. They agreed, and went out, happily armed with a sketch pad and ball point pen apiece, and a ziploc bag between them. I had seeded them fifty-two cents (what I had in the bottom of my purse) for a cute pobby little dragon sketch, now magnetized to my door. I figured, hey, they're getting some fresh air.
Well, they may have their issues with giving away beloved things, but they are not stingy with money. They came in to use the bathroom, with a five dollar bill in their bag in addition to the change. And Leanna told me they were going to donate the money to "Mom's store", which exists to support the home for victims of domestic violence. And they thought this up themselves. Leanna will be eleven in August. Abby was eight in December.
I could not be more proud.
It sounds as though Leanna is a good influence on Abby and they both have a heart of gold. It is good for them to know at a young age that there are people out there with a lot less than what we have. Keep up the good work gang!
ReplyDeleteAnd when they came in, cold but cheerful, I explained that the blanket they used does not belong on the bedroom FLOOR and the pillows do not belong on the dining room TABLE and they both grinned sheepishly and rolled their eyes and put them away properly.
ReplyDeleteBecause they may be pretty cool kids, but they're still kids :-)