So proud momma moment. I must share. But first a bit of background information.
For those of you that don’t know, Thing 2 was born with a heart condition which required surgery when she was five. It was a serious enough condition that the surgery took place at Sick Kids hospital in Toronto. She had started to show signs of heart failure when she was finally big enough to have the surgery (before you start fretting too much – she is absolutely fine- the surgery was a success and she is as ornery and normal as any other teenage girl around) Anyways the staff at Sick Kids was wonderful and although the experience was harrowing and nothing I would wish on my enemies, she was well cared for. I still remember the hospital, and have nightmares about the sick, sad children but, it was the best place for Thing 2 to be.
Anyways that’s the background, fast forward to now Thing 1 is eighteen and Thing 2 is fifteen. The other night I overheard the two of them talking, it goes like this:
Thing 2 “Don’t worry I’ll get you the money I owe you next week, when I get paid.”
Thing 1 “Okay, it’s on my credit card so I need the cash as soon as possible.”
Thing 2 “No problem.”
Hmm. My ears perked up and the Mommy radar switched on to high. What is Thing 2 buying that requires a credit card? And why did she ask her brother and not me? Hmm. Time to get to the bottom of this mystery.
So I call the kids in, and ask what’s going on?
This is the story as I got it from them.
Thing 1 saw a post online looking for help. It was $20 per month donation to the Sick Kids hospital.
Thing 1 said since it was the hospital that saved his sisters life he wanted to help them. And that he knew how much that hospital had helped his sister and he wanted to donate back to it. He arranged the auto donation to come off his credit card once a month for the next year and when Thing 2 heard about it she also thought it was a great idea and wanted to contribute as well so she had him set it up for her. Each child is donating $20 per month because they know what a great hospital Sick Kids is. Thing 2 has memories, however vague of her time there and knew she had to give back to the place that had literally saved her life.
Both kids work part time and save fifty percent of their incomes for college, since we’ve always known that Mr. Gloria and I would be unable to pay for post-secondary education. So their spending money is already limited and for the two of them to decide to donate a portion of that money to charity, and a charity that is so close to our hearts (literally) and I felt like The Grinch, my heart grew three sizes with the pride I felt.
I had this moment of pure bliss, pure pride and joy. A moment where I knew I had done well with my kids and they were genuinely good people.
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