Being generous doesn’t have to cost much, but it can make a huge difference.
No matter how little you have, sharing a bit of it can feel like magic.
And this kind of magic lasts far past when the gifts are just paper shrapnel and tiny pieces of torn bows and boxes.
I don’t know how PigPen and his friends will spend the little $5 we could give them.
I don’t know if they will like the snacks we packed.
I’m typing this having just spent $30 of our last $57 on our son’s prescription meds.
But I don’t regret it.
Not for a second.
When my son asked about why PigPen cried and when my daughter’s eyes filled with tears when she saw mine overflowing, I said simply,
“Mama and daddy don’t have much and we know what it’s like to have even less than we do now. So, as a parent, it’s hard for me to see someone else’s sons and daughters hurting and struggling. I hope, no matter what you all choose in life, that you always share from what you have.”
“We will, mama,” they said sweetly.
And for all the wild and feral moments my kids have each day, I believed them.
