It’s interesting to see how adults respond to a child versus an adult. I’ll give you a couple of examples.
Last Tuesday, Kiera and I rang a bell for The Salvation Army in front of Wal-Mart. Well, we were both supposed to ring a bell but Kiera remembered that her school was putting on a Christmas play at the same time that we were supposed to be ringing a bell.
Aaron and I decided that I could ring the bell and he would be her date for the play. It wound up being a short play and she was able to come ring the bell with me for a good twenty minutes before our shift ended. During that time, I was able to compare the reactions we received from people.
Before Kiera joined me bell ringing, I was all by myself. I turned on my Pandora Christmas music, rang my bell and greeted people as they entered and exited the store. I tried to make sure and greet everyone entering the store with “Merry Christmas” and as people exited I wished them good night.
A lot of people would respond with a greeting or a thank you. I did have my fair share of people who just ignored me and that’s ok. I’m not complaining nor am I trying to gripe. It is just an observation.Now, when Kiera joined me, it all changed. When she arrived, she asked to put on my red and white striped gloves and Santa hat. I quickly helped her put them on and tied the Salvation Army apron on her as well. Once she decided which bell she wanted to ring, she began greeting people.
“Merry Christmas!” She would shout over the ringing of the bell. She would smile her sweet smile and even the people rushing by would pause to thank her or return her greeting. I don’t think one person ignored her.
A group of college guys came by heading in the store. One of the guys had his headphones in his ears. Kiera smiled in their direction and yelled, “Merry Christmas.”
They all slowed down, smiled and wished her a Merry Christmas. The guy with the headphones took them out of his ears and turned to Kiera, giving her a warm smile and greeted her back.
It was amazing to see her without any hesitation or worry about how people would respond to her. She offered suckers to people, thanked them for their donation and continued ringing her bell. I was so proud of her.
Tonight, she and I made a quick stop at United Grocery. We were planning on running in for a few items and then picking up Aaron who was working late. As we made our way from the parking lot to the store, my little OCD child pointed at the garland hanging from their front entrance.
“It’s not straight.” She stated.
“What’s not straight, baby?” I asked looking to the entrance.
“The green thing.” She said, stopping underneath the garland and pointing to an end that did not match the other side. “It’s hanging down there and not hanging on the other side.”
“Oh… well…” I stumbled trying to come up with a response.
“Can I tell someone?” She asked.
“I guess, baby.” I answered thinking that maybe she wouldn’t actually go through with it. I really should know better by now.
We grabbed our grocery cart and started down the aisles. We passed a United employee and she tapped my hand. “Can I go tell him?”
“No, baby. He looks like he is in a big hurry.” I replied and motioned for her to continue on.
We managed to get almost all the groceries we needed before she saw two younger male employees turning down an aisle. “Can I go tell them?” She asked.
“Sure.” I responded.
She quickly ran after the two guys. I followed with our basket. “Hey, guys…” I spoke up realizing that Kiera was just going to trail after them until they stopped.
They turned to look at me and I pointed to Kiera, who came to stop directly in front of them. Both of the guys smiled kindly at her.
“That green thing in the front of the store?” She started out pointing towards the entrance of the store. “It’s not hanging right. It’s messed up.”
I smiled at their confused looks and interjected. “The garland on the outside of the store doesn’t match on both sides. She noticed as we walked up and wanted to let someone know.”
The confusion on their faces quickly cleared and they both assured her that it would be fixed and thanked her for telling them.
As we continued our grocery shopping, she said, “I was really scared to tell them, but they were nice.”
“I am proud of you for being brave and telling them that something was wrong.” I told her. “You did good.”
We made our way to the front and checked out. Before leaving, I asked to speak to the manager on duty and passed along kudos to the two young men who were so nice to Kiera. As I begin to explain how she noticed the garland was not matching in the way it was hung, he quickly looked to Kiera and said, “I noticed that too!”
It makes me laugh thinking of how we as adults would respond to another adult coming up to tell us the garland didn’t match on both sides. I know if I told Aaron that, he would give me that special look he reserves for the times he can’t voice what he really wants to say.
I’m thankful to the people who can respond to a child and make them feel important, no matter what their concern may be. It’s the little things that make this Mommy happy.
