just a pencil

I think kids are often just natural at helping others. Yes, they might stare when we would know not to but they ask the questions... They treat people like people. That's all. Jodi at Looking Beyond the Cracked Window wrote this:

There is one man who lives near the malls, he sits on a bench with his cart and stuff...One day the kids and I were going into a store, and the kids said hello...Otto, bold little man, asked him what he needed most...The man said a pencil. The teen asked why a pencil, he held up a crossword puzzle from a discarded newspaper (covered in wiped off garbage) and stated his pencil broke.

We went on our way, and yet the man stuck with me. The thought of here I am spending frivolous money, not that there is a lot of that, yet truly what is the importance of just shopping.

The Teen, bored as we were not anywhere near a store that interests him, asked for twenty bucks and stated he was going to head to another store.

All done with shopping, I headed out with CJ and the Diva, to find The Teen and Otto walking across the parking lot towards this man. At first, my gut reaction was to yell, "Hey guys!", yet, I did not and waited. I calculated in the span of 5 seconds a game plan, should anything go awry...(Damn judgments)

I slowly walked towards them and watched...I could hear them chatting with him again, The teen started to hand him something, I strained to see...

Oh My... Otto and The Teen handed this man, a box of pencils, a sharpener and a brand new book of puzzles! The man was shocked and at first didn't want it, as he was afraid they would be in trouble. That was when I reached them, "No, no trouble."

The man sat there a bit dumbfounded. I quiet settled over us at that moment, a quiet that led to awkwardness. "Okay, you guys ready?" And we turned and began to walk to the truck, when I heard, "Hey lady!"

Glancing over my shoulder the man, looking into my eyes, just said, "Some kids you got there."

I smiled said thank you...
We sat in the truck for all of two minutes..All quiet. Not easy with four children on a shopping rush. All I could say, without letting that knot in my throat loose, was, "I love you guys."

And the day moved on....

Yeah....Some kids I got here.