Spending money

I'm one of those that doesn't spend my leisure moments performing manual labor if I have made the money to pay for a service.  I would rather spend leisure time doing hobbies I like or going places that give me pleasure.  One of those jobs I freely entrust to other hands is mowing my lawn.

Each Saturday I count out the money for my lawn mowing person and put it into an envelope with his name on it.  My granddaughter, who spends most Saturdays with me,  either watches or helps me fill the envelope.  When it comes time to pay the person, I let her hand the envelope to him.  She takes great pride in helping to pay for the lawn.

A week ago, I was about to go for groceries at the store.  I was rounding up my money from wallet and the place I empty my pockets.  My granddaughter saw me and wanted to help pay for the groceries.  she went to the place we had envelopes, then to her little money box that she keeps because she is learning how to save and how to count money.  She put a fair amount of change of different denominations, which she thought was a lot of money, and handed it to me.  "Use this."

I smiled really big, told her thanks.  It took me a couple of minutes more to round up my keys and get ready to go, and as I was leaving, she said, "Don't forget to spend my money."  I thanked her prolifically.

My granddaughter is 4 years old.  I was humbled at what a child works hard at contributing to a larger cause.  Somewhere up the path of life that principle gets reversed.  I love her purity of heart, singleness of purpose, and all-for-one attitude.   Life taints I know.  But what a crystal clear memory I have of a time when her heart was pure beyond belief!