Lunch Money

“I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine.” Bruce Lee, martial artist

 

The smile:

 

Being a single dad and/ or co-parenting is tough. I am fortunate my ex and I work well together when it comes to our kids. This is no reflection on her when I say you must always look for those teaching moments with your kids. No one will ever care for them in the same way a parent does and the best way to instill good judgment and values is to share them with your offspring.

Case in point…there will always be people in need in the world. I  have taught my sons and daughter to assist where you  can. You can imagine my pleased surprise when Ben came home from first grade one day and we had this conversation:

Me “How was school today?”

Ben “OK, I guess.”

Me “What did you study?”

Ben “I don’t know”

Me “What did you eat for lunch?”

Ben “I didn’t eat lunch.”

Me” What? Why not?”

Ben “I gave my lunch money to an old woman?”

I beamed with pride at the thought he had helped someone less fortunate.

The next day after school the conversation went much the same way. When he got to the point which he told me he gave his lunch money to an old woman again, I grew concerned. I lectured him, “Son, I am glad you are so giving, but you can’t continue to skip lunch. It isn’t healthy. Who is this woman?”

Ben looked innocently at me and answered, “The one selling candy in the lunch room.”

The ponder:

Ben does have a big heart and does help others when he can. I am very proud of him. In the previous story I leapt to the conclusion he was making a selfless gesture based on what I expected from him. Think about this…how often do we conclude the motivation of people around us, especially people for whom we care, before we have all the facts? How often do we have negative thoughts in this area with no foundation?

 

The Fudoshin Challenge:

I continue to get in better shape. I practiced kenpo for three hours the night before last and will weight train (arms & abs!) today with sensei. Today I weigh 219 pounds, down from 250 pounds in January 2014 . Lean and…not so mean…lol