I was doing some last-minute Christmas shopping in a toy store and
decided to look at Barbie dolls for my nieces. A nicely dressed little
girl was excitedly looking through the Barbie dolls as well, with a roll
of money clamped tightly in her little hand.
When she came upon a Barbie she liked, she would turn and ask her
father if she had enough money to buy it. He usually said "yes," but she
would keep looking and keep going through their ritual of "Do I have
enough?"
As she was looking, a little boy wandered in across the aisle and
started sorting through the Pokemon toys. He was dressed neatly, but in
clothes that were obviously rather worn, and wearing a jacket that was
probably a couple of sizes too small. He, too, had money in his hand, but
it looked to be no more than five dollars or so, at the most. He was with
his father as well, and kept picking up the Pokemon video games. Each time
he picked one up and looked at his father, his father shook his head,
"no."
The little girl had apparently chosen her Barbie, a beautifully
dressed, glamorous doll that would have been the envy of every little girl
on the block. However, she had stopped and was watching the interchange
between the little boy and his father. Rather dejectedly, the boy had
given up on the video games and had chosen what looked like a book of
stickers instead. He and his father then started walking through another
aisle of the store.
The little girl put her Barbie back on the shelf, and ran over to the
Pokemon games. She excitedly picked up one that was lying on top of the
other toys, and raced toward the check-out, after speaking with her
father.
I picked up my purchases and got in line behind them.
Then, much to the little girl's obvious delight, the little boy and his
father got in line behind me. After the toy was paid for and bagged, the
little girl handed it back to the cashier and whispered something in her
ear. The cashier smiled and put the package under the counter.
I paid for my purchases and was rearranging things in my purse when the
little boy came up to the cashier. The cashier rang up his purchases and
then said, "Congratulations, you are my hundredth customer today, and you
win a prize!"
With that, she handed the little boy the Pokemon game, and he could
only stare in disbelief. It was, he said, exactly what he had wanted!
The little girl and her father had been standing at the doorway during
all of this, and I saw the biggest, prettiest grin on that little girl
that I have ever seen in my life. Then they walked out the door, and I
followed, close behind them.
As I walked back to my car, in amazement over what I had just
witnessed, I heard the father ask his daughter why she had done that. I'll
never forget what she said to him. "Daddy, didn't Nana and Paw Paw want me
to buy something that would make me happy?"
He said, "Of course they did, Honey."
To which the little girl replied, "Well, I just did."
With that, she giggled and started skipping toward their car.
Apparently, she had decided on the answer to her own question of, "Do I
have enough?"
By Sharon Palmer