Stahlke Adoption

Learning Curve

Our six-year-old David exited the store in Ukrainian village with his pants pocket bulging. I stopped him and asked for the contents of his pocket--candy. We marched back into the store and found the manager. Despite the language barrier, I made clear to the man that David had taken the candy without paying. Instead of backing me up, the manager smiled and said to him, "It doesn't cost that much--why don't you just keep it?" Aaaaargh!

Yesterday, our ten-year-old David walked with me to a parking structure to pick up our car. At the pay station, he discovered that a previous customer had forgotten their change--four $1 bills. I was proud of David that he showed me the money, and we immediately searched for the security guard to turn it in.

I was ready this time. When the man started to tell David to keep the money, I interrupted and told him that we were very glad when our children turned in money that didn't belong to them. He caught the hint, and thanked David for his honesty.

posted by Stahlkes @ 4:26 PM