giving is better than receiving

My eight year old nephew Darick has learned what the saying "It's better to give than receive" means. My mom has been talking to him about how fortunate he is because he has good food to eat, a bed to sleep on, blankets to cover up with, and clothes to keep him warm. She's been explaining that many kids don't have nearly as much as he does.

Then comes the week-long library book sale at the school. He finds out that the money made from selling old library books will go to help buy some needy kids Christmas presents. He first hits up my mom. She gives him a dollar. The next day he got some money from his dad. By day three, he took his birthday money out of his piggy bank and came home with a bookbag full of books. When my mom said, "Darick, why did you buy all those books?" He replied, "Well, Grandma, it's going to help some kids, you know."

The story doesn't end there. It comes time to wrap gifts. He decides that even though he went to the Secret Santa Shop to buy some presents, he doesn't think he got his cousins enough. So he goes upstairs to his bedroom and picks out a book for each of them that he bought at the library sale. When he finished wrapping those, he says, "Wait! I didn't get anything for Grandma Fannie and we're going to her house today. She's too old for kids' books, but I don't know what to give her." After thinking quizzically about it for a few minutes, he says, "I know what I can do."

So he walks up to his room and gets a dollar out of his piggy bank. He comes downstairs and proceeds to tell my mom that's what he's giving Grandma Fannie for Christmas. He then wrapped up the dollar with a smile on his face. With his gift giving and wrapping still not done, he tells my mom that he needs to get Uncle Phil one more thing. So he goes upstairs and comes back down with a children's encyclopedia. Yes, one he bought at the library sale. Mom, with a very surprised voice asked, "You're giving THAT to Uncle Phil?" Darick answered, "Yep, because I know Uncle Phil likes to read. Everytime he's here, he sits right there in that chair and reads. So I know he'll like this book!"

Later that day, Darick got to hand deliver his gift to Grandma Fannie. He told her how to open it carefully so it wouldn't rip. She was surprised and not really sure why he was giving her a dollar. Later my mom explained to her why he did that. She said, "I think that is the most special thing anyone has ever done for me."

That's the sweet story of my nephew Darick, who, the longer I'm away, the more I get to see how tender and loving his heart really is. And that makes his "Aunt Dee" really proud.