One Fine Day

All right, let's do this thing!

My son's school is short one very important playground. We've been struggling all year to raise the funds to purchase the first phase--for a whopping $25,000, before installation. We've dined out for it several time. Purchased many pretzels. And today, he walked for it.

Fourteen people agreed to sponsor my son as he walked his whole recess away to raise money for the playground he so desperately wants. THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who helped him raise $271!!!!!

And sweet boy that he is, he started the sponsorship process with himself. He pledged $10 of his toy money to the cause. All he had to do was find the key to his lock box so he could put the money in the envelope.

When he couldn't find the key, he was heartbroken. I told him how proud I was of his decision to support the children at his school. I would pay his $10 and match it with $10 of my own.

He was ecstatic.

Then I found his key.

He opened the box to find $14 in it. He pulled it all out and put it all in the evelope.

I was stymied.

Hadn't I agreed to pay his $10?

"I knew I'd have to pay you back, Mom."

I was touched. I had never mentioned a pay back plan. I had no intention of him paying me back. I told him so.

But still he wanted to put it all in.

And I probably made a mistake here, but I didn't let him. I was so proud of his ability to give up all the money he had that I talked him out of it. I didn't want him to suffer. I told him how responsible he was being, how generous he was being, but as his Mom, I would pay the $10 I said I would and he could keep the $10 he had.

He put the $4 in the envelope and the ten went back into his lock box.

At least until the next Walk-A-Thon.