The Golden Coin

The Golden Coin

Some stories just have to be told. My daughter Alyssa age 7 recently found a “golden coin” at school (a one dollar gold coin). She has been carrying it around for at least a week. It goes missing about once a day. Once it turns up we all go back to living a semi normal life. Alyssa has polished it and treated it like a mother would treat a new born baby (minus the losing of course). She has asked me if I thought she should return it to the school. I explained to her that it is really not her golden coin and that someone else might be looking for it. She assured me that it would just get put in with all the coats in the lost and found and no one would find it or take care of it. I told her I would let her decide what to do and I would support her either way. She said, “I think I will keep it”.

Which brings me to the next part of the story. Today as we were walking into the mall together a woman approached us. She said, ”I know people hate to be asked this but I lost my job and I am staying in a hotel. I have to come up with $53.00 per day in order to stay there. Until I am able to find a job I am asking people for money so that I will have a place to stay. Do you have any change?” (Here is where the judgment comes in) Because we donate in a lot of other ways we don’t normally give money to people in mall parking lots. So sadly we said no we do not have any change. Just as we were about to walk away Alyssa looked up at me with the golden coin in her hand and said, “Mommy, I can give her this.” It took all the strength I had not to burst into tear right there and focus on the teaching moment my 7 year old was giving ME. I looked at her and said that is your special golden coin if you want to give it to her you can. She said, “I do want to give it to her.” So she ran over to the woman who had just walked away and gave her the very coveted golden coin. I gave her a huge hug and a kiss and told her how proud of her I was and that she had done a very good thing helping someone in need. Later she said to me, “I know I made the right decision, because I feel good.”

Today Alyssa reminded me that it does not matter how or when we give…just that we do.