Proud Moment

So yesterday I was at church with both kids. Jake is going to be making his first communion so these are his last weeks of obligatory church attendance. There was one lady sitting on the end to my right, then two seats, then Jake, Evan and myself. I had two seats between me and the person on my left. After mass started, a lady of middle-eastern descent came into our row and sat to my left, leaving one seat between us. The rest of her family, including a little girl around Evan's age, was in the row behind us. I noticed that Jake was looking at the lady and then I saw his fingers go up like he was counting. I looked behind me and immediately knew what he was thinking and I was in total agreement. Then he came out and said it and actually asked me to do it. He said, "Mom, that lady is separated from her family. If I move down two and Evan moves down two and you move down that will be three extra seats and her family can sit with her. Tell her mom, tell her."

I immediately told the lady that we would make room and to ask her family to join her. They were go grateful. As they filed in the row, I made sure to tell them it was all Jake's idea.

I was beaming at that moment. I was just so proud of Jake. He also shared one of his two toys with his brother who had nothing to fiddle with. For the longest time I had wondered if my boys, who have so much, will be the kind of empathetic considerate people I wish for them to be. It can be taught but at some point it has to come from within. Sometimes I feel that in this day and age, many kids just don't get that message - to be kind to your fellow man and to do unto others as you would have done to you. For me that's not church talk, that's just morality. At that moment, Jake showed me that he has empathy and consideration and I was relieved and happy for him.

A few minutes later, Evan, who is four, slid past me to sit next to the little girl and rub her arm when he thought nobody was looking. He caught me looking and gave me a slick smile...Now that child worries me.