Tis better to give than to receive

Last night I was watching one of my favorite shows, "Jon and Kate Plus Eight". In this episode they took their kids to Tennessee to buy gifts for the sick children at St. Jude's hospital. Their sextuplets (who are the same age as Ben) picked out toys for these kids and got nothing for themselves. I started thinking to myself that Ben was old enough to understand the spirit of giving too and that as his mother it was up to me to instill this in him.

While Ben was at school this morning I got out all the wrapping supplies and gifts for his teachers, brother and cousin. When he came home from school I was planning to teach him a bit about how it is better to give than to receive, remind him how the Wisemen brought gifts to baby Jesus and have him help me wrap the gifts.

He came home with a note on his bag from his teachers that said they had talked about giving to those less fortunate than them at the holiday season. They had read a book at school about a dog named Claude who gave all his Christmas gifts to a homeless dog because he had a family at home who loved him. They talked about the Utah Food Bank and how it gives children who don't have food at Christmas time something to eat. They asked the kids to bring some canned food to school tomorrow for the food bank.

I felt glad that his teachers had laid the groundwork for my "giving" speech. I sat Ben down and talked with him a bit and he helped me wrap the gifts. Then I got some food out of the cupboard and told him he could take it to school tomorrow. I felt like he was only sort of paying attention to me and had to remind myself that he is only four. After a few minutes he came up to me and said, "Can you give people money with the food?" I told him yes, you can give food, money or gifts to people who have less than us. He left the room and came back with his piggy bank and a baggy. He dumped out the bank into the baggy and said, "I don't need this money anymore, I want to give it to the kids."

I felt my eyes well up with tears and realized that my little four year old boy understood more than he led on. Somewhere along the way he has learned some empathy. I am so proud of the person he is becoming and it was a good reminder to me that he isn't just a selfish four year old, but a caring, understanding and sensitive little boy.