Tis Better to Receive... Even Dandelions...
My daughter has a fascination with flowers. Mostly dandelions. As the weather turns warmer and spring arrives, she is constantly on the lookout for flowers to pick for me. However, she finds the most inopportune times to do this…when we are late for an appointment or school, or my favorite…during soccer practice.
At soccer practice this week, she was so busy looking for wildflowers to pick that she missed half of what the coach was saying. I sat on the sidelines watching her bend over every few feet and pick another purple flower or clover or dandelion. I started getting a bit frustrated with her because she was not following directions. But, then I stopped.
Like a movie in slow motion, I watched my little pigtailed girl in shin guards and a flowered skirt with the wind in her hair and a smile so wide on her face as she ran to me with a bunch of “flowers” (mostly weeds). She was so happy to have found them and wanted me to have the joy of receiving them right away. It was then that I learned that I shouldn’t discourage her act of giving. Even if it was in the middle of soccer practice. She wanted to give me something that would make me happy. I embraced her right there and told her I loved her. She ran off with a look of satisfaction on her face and began to play soccer.
When we got home, we put my flowers in a little plastic cup of water and put them on our kitchen table. I wanted her to know how special her gift was to me. For, with the flowers, she gave me a piece of her heart.
What can you do to show your child you appreciate his/her small acts of kindness? - Malinda Moseley
