"A few months ago, my husband and I were having a conversation about our finances. Due to some very difficult...
Posted by Love What Matters [1] on Thursday, March 2, 2017 [2]
Due to some difficult circumstances, one mom and her husband were having a hard time making ends meet. While they were having a conversation about their finances, their 4-year-old was in the other room and though they didn't know it at the time, he was taking note of what they were saying [3].
The following week, the mom made a comment in passing [4] to her husband after a particularly stressful day about how she could use a cup of coffee. "He reminded me that coffee just isn't in our budget, we can't put any money on our Starbucks card, and the conversation ended there," she shared on Love What Matters Facebook page [5]. Her child, who likes playing with old gift cards, then asked if he could see her Starbucks card.
About a minute later, this exchange happened . . .
"Here, mommy."
"What is it, honey?"
"This is for you. I put dollars on your coffee card for you."
When the anonymous mom turned around, she saw that her Starbucks card was neatly wrapped inside a $5 bill that he had been saving. "He, being the literal child that he is, put $5 ON my card for me to buy a coffee," she explained. "Take a moment to appreciate how beautifully your children's minds work. When my husband told me, 'We can't put money on the card,' my son took that quite literally . . . so he did it for me," she wrote. "I will never in my life drink a better cup of coffee than I did that afternoon."
Aside from a much-needed caffeine boost, this mom's innocent child gave her something even more important that she wants other parents to also realize. "Take another moment to realize that teaching kindness to children is such a worthwhile feat. When you think they aren't listening, they are. When you think you've said it 1,000 times but it hasn't sunk in . . . it has," she wrote. "Teach your kids kindness and they will pour it into the world. They, and all of the lives your children will change, deserve it."