Compassion of a Two Year Old

In this ever growing world we do not see a lot of compassion towards one another. When we do, it is rare and a shame we do not see it often. It takes parents, and grandparents, even aunts and uncles to help young children learn to value another. At some point we all lose sight of it.

This story I am about to tell you takes place about 11 years ago, and it is about my daughter Bri. She was around two at the time, and her older brother was in preschool, and her younger brother was not born yet. Bri has shown many times that she is compassionate, caring and loving. However, what I did not know at the time, was how giving she was.

On a hot summer day, the temperature was reaching the mid 90's. We had taken the day while her older brother was at school to go visit my mother-in-law at the time. She was elderly, lived in an income-based apartment and had health issues. When we got there, she was limping, and it turned out she had fallen and hurt her hip. Shortly after we arrived, my sister-in-law at the time also arrived. We helped my mother-in-law at the time clean up her home, cook and a few other things.

Bri, she was allowed to sit and watch television. There were not many channels, but there was one cartoon channel that was available. However, my little girl did not want to watch cartoons. She insisted that she wanted to help. She was only about 2, so there was not much she could do except sweep. She did, but for her it was not enough.

Bri took it upon herself to to get the laundry out of the washer. She was short, so she pulled a kitchen chair up to the machine. At the time, my mother-in-law did not have a dryer, so her laundry had to be hung dry on the line just outside the back door. After Bri had all the clothes out she started to drag the hamper outside. I went and helped her and we hung the laundry together for my mother-in-law. Again, Bri was too short to reach the lower lines, so we took the chair she had used to get the laundry from the washer.

After that, my mother-in-law gave Bri $2. At first, Bri did not want it but my mother-in-law insisted she take it. Reluctantly she did. I asked Bri if she wanted to go to the store and spend it on anything she wanted. She said, "Mommy, I don't know what to get." I told her she could decide there at the store, and if she decided she did not want anything, then she could save it.

We decided to take a walk towards the little convenience store, down the street. It was just 5 mins. Outside the store, sitting in the tiny bit of shade possible, was an elderly man. He had a veteran hat with a few pins and medals on it, and a jacket with some ribbons.

Bri walked up to the gentleman and asked him why he was sitting there. I apologized to the man and he said not to worry, he would be obliged to tell my little girl. So, he did, turns out he was homeless, and the place where Veterans are supposed to be able to receive help, refused him help. They said there was not enough funding to aid an old vet as himself. He told Bri about the war he was in, and how he served the country from the time he graduated high school until his injury.

This elderly veteran had only one leg and was homeless. He looked like he had not had a decent meal or shower in more than a month. I offered to get him a sandwich when I got in the store, but he declined it, saying to feed my daughter instead. He would get by. While I tried to insist and while he refused, I had not seen what Bri was doing next to me.

She was struggling to get into her pocket, and when she finally got what she wanted, she took the gentleman's hands in her own. His hands were big compared to hers, and you could see the scars from war and the roughness shown on them.

After she had his hands in hers, she placed her $2 in his hand. After she gave it to him, she started to turn and walk back towards the road where we had just came from. He asked her to wait and tried to give it back. She refused to take it and told him, "Mister, my Mommy said I could do anything I wanted with that money. I did not know what I wanted, then we met you. I did exactly what I wanted; you need it more than I do mister. Please, take it."

He had tears streaming down his face, and said that she had made his day. He told me that my daughter was special, and so kindhearted. He said most people just pass by with no regard, and sometimes he would receive kicks from people passing by.

As we took the walk back, I told Bri that what she did was very nice. I asked her what made her decide to give her money away instead of buying a toy. She told me, "because he needed it more than I did. I did exactly what I wanted to do. If I could, I would give everyone like him money."

To sum up, Bri could have gotten anything she wanted. But instead, she chose to give to someone in need. To this day, 11 years later, she still gives when and whatever she can.