We often learn the most from our children. Some time ago, a friend of mine punished his 3 year
old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper.
Money was tight, and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under
a tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and
said, "This is for you, Daddy."
He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found that
the box was empty. He yelled at her, "Don't you know that when you give someone a present,
there's supposed to be something inside of it?"
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty.
I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged her forgiveness.
My friend told me that he kept that gold box by his bed for years. Whenever he was
discouraged, he take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it
there.
In a very real sense, each of us parents has been given a gold container filled with
unconditional love and kisses from our children. There is no more precious possession anyone
could hold. You now have the choice:
1. Pass this on to your friends, or
2. Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart
As you can see, I took choice number 1.
Diane M. Milbauer
Business Services Department
Empire Union School District
e-mail: dmilbauer@empire.k12.ca.us
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