This is a true story… it happened on Tuesday and just seemed so natural, so easy-flowing–it was just something we all laughed about and I thought you might appreciate it as well.
Our kitchen seems to be a bit of a meeting point throughout the day. On Tuesday, I had just come back in from some errands and was divesting myself of my “things”: watch, ring, pen, keys, glasses, and wallet. I paused for a moment, looked into the wallet, and noticing a few singles, pulled them out. Standing there with four dollar
bills in my hand, it was no surprise when my 13-year-old daughter, who had just walked in, asked if she could have one. Handing her one, I realized I was inviting my 15-year-old, standing nearby, to ask for one also. The first daughter said “thank you” and stashed it in a pocket. Surely enough, the second daughter asked for one too. I handed her a dollar and she too said “thank you”.
Well, that would be the end of the story if I only had two children… but I don’t. My five-year-old son had come into the kitchen to see me too. (My wife was standing in the background taking in the events. )
Well, not to be left out, Benjamin asked for a dollar also. I happily handed him one and as he took it, a grin spreading from ear to ear, he started to turn away. My wife quickly prompted him with “What do you say, Benjamin?”
He looked back at me as I stood there, still holding the wallet and the last dollar bill, and as innocently as anything, without any pause or hesitation, Benjamin said…
“Can I have another one?”
He got the dollar!
He also said “thank you.”
(Come on, what was I going to do with $4.00??? At today’s gas prices, the kids will probably get more out of it than I would.)
