Henry wants to do the right thing.

Yesterday I asked Henry to go into a store and get something for me while I waited outside with the dog. He performed this task so admirably—I could see him through the store window, saying please and thank you in all the right places, while the guys behind the counter grinned down at him—that when he returned and handed me my change, I said, "You keep it." It was a dollar. He was shocked. A dollar? He could buy out the toy store with this wealth! Buy all the Hershey bars in the universe!

We walked half a block, debating the merits of spending vs. saving. We were waiting outside the grocery store for Scott, and as we stood there, Henry said hello to a homeless man asking for change. Then he handed him the dollar. They exchanged a high-five. Henry walked back to me and said, "That was totally worth it—he was such a nice guy." I waited for him to ask for another dollar, but he never mentioned it again.

Scott came out of the store and we made our way home. Along the way, we talked about homelessness and poverty and inequality and what Henry could do to change things. He's got some big ideas, people. Wait until you hear.

Comments

[alissa]

I. LOVE. THIS. POST. Thank you for brightening my day.

[norm]

Wow.

Well you raised him right. Undoubtably. Nicely done.

[darcie]

i have completely reconsidered childlessness, just on the off chance a kid of mine would do what your's did. it took only four seconds. this story rulez. ;)

[Kdahlface]

I hope my Henry (20 months) grows up to be like your Henry is at 6...Lego complaints included. I almost teared up when he handed his friend a bottle top today after initially trying to grab the bottle from his friend and listening to me when I said he needed to pick something else for the moment, so I imagine when he's doing bigger things, I'll be a disaster.

[Dani]

Great story! You have taught him well.

[Ree]

Oh. All kinds of hugs for Henry. May I give him a dollar? He can do whatever he wants with it. I'll give it to you in a couple of weeks.

[Margaret]

:)

[rebecka]

Insightful. It's so easy to judge our own kids.

[Kendra]

What a beautiful story. I'm in the middle of a "how did I turn into such a lousy parent?" stage. My 16-month-old is biting everyone, my 3-year-old is having tantrums, and my almost-6-year-old is whining. And some days I feel like I must be doing everything wrong, that they think this behavior is right.

And then I get reminders that mine are not the only kids to act this way--and that if you keep laying the groundwork, they'll surprise you by showing you that they actually were paying attention to the lessons you were trying to teach them.

Henry sounds like a really marvelous kid.

[debra]

I love to hear stories of children with big hearts. It makes me feel better about our future. What a sweet boy and I can't wait to hear more about what he has in mind. And, does he need any help? I live to volunteer. :)

[Alisha]

Congratulations on a job well done. It's moments like these that make those other less savory moments worth it.

[Ally]

Okay, so Alice? Your post made me cry.

^^ways that I know I'm a woman^^

[coffeejitters (Judy Haley)]

ok that just made me melt into a little puddle on the floor

[Renee]

It's amazing when you are trying to teach your child perspective on the world and they turn around and reveal a whole new perspective to you! Such a beautiful moment for your family to learn and grow with!

[momma2731]

That boy of yours is good people. I heart Henry!!

[Average Jane]

How very cool! I think I...I have something in my eye.

[Amy]

How awesome. Good for Henry.

[patois]

Bravo to his parents and to his own fine inner self.

[kaylen]

That is too sweet! It always amazes me how you can be so frustrated about something your child is doing and you start thinking how "maybe I did something wrong" as a parent...and then out of nowhere, they totally shock you with wonderfulness!Yay for Henry! Yay for his good parents! :)

[Anna]

Henry is pretty awesome.

[Melissa]

Thanks, Alice. Gives me hope in many ways!

[TexasDeb]

My Mom had a theory while we were growing up, that every other year was going to be Memory Book Worthy. She observed we would spend a year going through some sort of developmental angst, and then the next year we'd cruise. Until we hit the next speed bump. I'm not sure how well supported this is by the lab coat set, but that helped her take more the long view which I only began to appreciate once I had my own kids.

I decided decades back a Scarlett O'Hara approach (fiddle-dee-dee I'll worry about that tomorrow) can be extremely advantageous with kid stuff. Even/especially now mine are considered grown.

[MamaCass]

That's tremendous. Really.

[Ruth]

I only hope my own Henry is half as lovely when he finally works his way out of the 'I'm almost SIX years old, Mommm!' self-absorption, whining, sulking phase.Then I can go back to being the perfect mother I know I am - deep inside the body of a snippy shrew.

[ameliorate me]

Yep - I totally teared up when you got to the Henry-handing-homeless-man-dollar-bill part. Thanks for sharing - you've got an awesome kid.