Sometimes kids just do the right thing

Yesterday, as my kids were mixing wet and dry ingredients for two batches of chocolate chip-blueberry-oatmeal muffins, a small woman knocked on our door kitchen door. She was collecting money for a family who lost everything in a fire. Just a minute, I said, and went to get my wallet. But then I remembered I didn't have any cash. And the last coins were given to our babysitter (because I didn't have any other cash). Before I could apologise, my seven year old daughter ran to me with her pink poodle wallet. Mind you, she didn't have much there either, as her last coins went to that same baby sitter (because her parents forget that they need to have cash at home).

***

I push about 5 dollars worth of coins into the slot. The woman leaves.

A minute later my daughter runs to me with a toy--a gray bunny.

I dont' really play with this one anymore, she says. Ask the lady if there were kids in the fire who lost their toys.

At that time I see the woman make it around the corner. I also see that my 20 months old, happy that the muffin making process was left entirely up to her, poured almost an entire carton of milk into the batter. She is quite coordinated for a 20 months old--most of the milk actually did go into the batter, but she is naked and is smeared with chocolate chips.

I'm barefoot, in my pyjamas. Running after that woman seems like an impossible task.

At that very moment my husband walks through the back door and we instruct him to run, run, run after that woman and give her the gray bunny. And he does. And saves the day.