Give a little, it will make a difference

After a week long vacation we arrived back home today in the early afternoon.  Like most families, after being gone for an entire week and then come home, there is very little, if anything, in the refrigerator.  So, we unpacked and started laundry (when I say "we" I mean Sara) then ate dinner.  We then decided to go to our local Kroger to pick up food for the week, including items for what will be an amazing shrimp Alfredo I am preparing tomorrow night.

After getting all of our items into the cart (not buggy) we strolled on up to the check-out lanes.  Usually this is pretty non-eventful, beep, swipe and off to the car.  Now, I have to stop the story and tell you a little bit about my son Keagan if you don't know already.  Keagan likes to help.  It really doesn't matter what Sara or I am doing, Keagan wants to help do it.  Clean the floors, cook dinner, bake cookies, clean up the toys.  He also enjoys helping put groceries into the cart at the store and likes taking them out of the cart and put them on the little conveyor belt.  So, if you've ever been to Kroger, you know that there isn't really a conveyor belt, the cashier's empty your carts for you.  This is actually why Sara goes there, because with two (sometimes screaming) children it's nice to have some help.

Now, I hand Keagan the bag of tortillas so he can hand them to our cashier and move on with the process once the person checking-out in front of us is finished.  So there is my little red-headed monster, dancing anxiously next to our cart, ready to help as soon as our cashier reaches for the tortillas.    We proceeded with the check-out and after giving up the tortillas, I move on.  What happened next though, was something I wouldn't expect.  It might not seem a big deal to anyone else, but to my wife and I, but was big enough for us that we both commented on it several times after the fact.

After seeing the joy it brought my son to hand a woman he didn't know a bag of tortillas, our cashier continued pulling items out of our cart and scanning them.  But, with every few items she would grab and scan, she would hand something to Keagan and then immediately ask for it.  After handing over each item, Keagan would smile as big as possible, throw up his hands in excitement and dance around in circles waiting with anticipation for the next thing he was able to help with.

I tell you that really long story so I can share what I learned in that moment...

Slow Down.

This woman could have easily saved her self about 15 seconds by doing everything her self.  But instead she capitalized on a moment to not only give something to someone else, but sit back and see the complete and pure JOY that was in Keagan's happiness in that moment.  We miss far to often, not only the opportunities to do thing for others, but on getting a lot out of the moments when we do decide to slow down and do something for someone else instead of ourselves.

Especially this time of year.  We are all in a hurry to get to the next thing....beep, swipe and move on.  Slow down, look someone in the eye.  Take a minute, or longer, and really try to enjoy what you have. But also make sure to help someone else.  Never miss an opportunity to GIVE, even if it is something simple.