My daughter taught me a valuable lesson about balloon twisting in 2004. My oldest daughter, Cherie was only six at the time. She had learned how to twist a few basic shapes. Her favorite was the dog, and she made them anytime that she could. Once when I had her with me at a restaurant in Greenville she decided that she was going to “help her Daddy make balloons.” Soon enough she was happily twisting a purple dog balloon. She gave it to a nice lady and got a $10 tip.
Now wait a minute. I am the balloon twister here! But I decided to put my own artistic pride aside and have a bit of fatherly pride. Yup, the kid had done good, and she had the cuteness factor working for her. Of course ten dollars was a small fortune to a kindergartner. Cherie was amazed by this. “You mean people PAY MONEY for balloons.” she exclaimed. I explained the concept of tipping as best as I could to a six year old. And I somewhat reluctantly allowed her to keep the money.
A few days later I was going to take her to the store so she could spend her money. “Go get your ten dollars Cherie.” I said.
“Its gone.” Cherie said.
I was upset. My daughter has lost this money, or wasted it on candy, or who knows what. As calmly as I could, I asked “What happened to your money?”
She said “There was a lot of water in Asia. And my class collected money to help people.” This was right after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in December of 2004. Cherie attended a private Christian school that sent money in to help with the relief efforts. So when Cherie learned that hurting people needed money, she happily gave all she had. Here I was worried that my girl had squandered a few dollars when she had actually been very loving and giving.
I softly said “I am proud of you Cherie.” My daughter taught me that money was a tool, just like my balloons. Money can be useful for caring for the needs of my family. And at the end of my day my family is more important than the money.
I am grateful that all three of my children have shown an interest in carrying on the family business. Sure our business consists of being a clown, or being a face painter, or a magician, or a balloon twister. But I am even more grateful that they all have giving hearts. They have donated their time and efforts into feeding the homeless in Greenville. They give to our church. They put aside their allowance to give Christmas presents for needy children. Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.
