What Can Five Dollars Buy?

“If you as parents cut corners, your children will too. If you lie, they will too. If you spend all your money on yourselves and tithe no portion of it for charities, colleges, churches, synagogues, and civic causes, your children won't either. And if parents snicker at racial and gender jokes, another generation will pass on the poison adults still have not had the courage to snuff out.”-Marian.W. Edelman

 

That quote is on the wall at the YMCA.  

I love that quote.

The only lines I remember are the first two...if I cut corners, my children will too.  If I lie, they will too.

 

This morning as I was dropping my youngest yahoo

off to school early for choir practice,

she opened the car door

and discovered a five dollar bill 

on the snowy ground

right at the drop-off.

There were no other kids around.

She held it up 

for me to see 

and asked, 

"What do I do with it?"

 

I looked at it

then at her,

and said,

"Take it to the Office. 

They'll know what to do."

 

She smiled the smile

that all good-deed-doers smile

and hurried up the steps to her school.

 

As I drove away

I had that good feeling too.

She looked to me 

for the right answer

confidant that I would

guide her in that moment--

to do the right thing.

"Choose the Right"

CTR

we have choices everyday

to shine and polish our selves from the inside-out.

And it's a strictly do-it-yourself project.

 

Afterschool

the Caboose bounced in the house,

yammering about Valentine's Day

and her school day--

then she produced a small manila envelope

with her name written in "office-lady-cursive".

 

She had stopped by the office

on her way to the bus

and asked if anyone had claimed it--

noone had,

so the office lady gave it to her

and what really forced a smile

from my babies' lips

was that she said,

"Thank you for being honest."

 

Five dollars can't buy that.

“The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.” -Benjamin Franklin