encouraging

The other day I was in Target. This isn't impressive -- I'm in Target often. In fact, I probably go there at least every other week. I'm trying to cut this down to less than every 2 weeks as a way to save money. Do you ever notice that when you go into a store you almost always end up buying more than what is on the list? I do! This has to stop.

But, I digress.

So, anyway, I was in Target the other day. I'm in there often enough to feel like I am qualified to make a statement about the general behavior of people who are also there. For the most part, I've found that people who come to Target with their kids fall into 3 camps:

1) Those who rapidly give their kids everything they demand in an attempt to get out of the store without a meltdown

2) Those who completely ignore the screaming/hitting/running around that their kids have perfected

3) Those who acknowledge their children's screams and respond in kind with screams/hitting of their own

If only they could get their shrieks a little higher pitched, then only dogs could hear it and I wouldn't be so bothered.

Of course, there are those people with well-behaved children. I barely notice them because they are quietly going about their shopping, but I appreciate them.

Then there is the most rare of species:

The actively teaching parent.

This brings me to my story.

I was very encouraged in Target the other day when I happened upon a father teaching his son as they shopping. I was paused at the paper towels and along came this father and his 5-7 year old son.

Most of the time when I see men with children in Target they are in such a hurry it's little more than a blur.

But not this man. He stopped at the tissues and was checking out various boxes, talking to his son the whole time. It went something like this:

Now, you see, we can't just pick out any box. We have to check the price and the amount of tissues. We don't buy things just because we need them or want them. We have to take the price into consideration and make sure it's a good deal.

Here, look, this box costs $2.50 and has 75 tissues. This box costs $2.79, but has 100 tissues! It may cost a little bit more, but we get 25 extra tissues. This one is the best buy.

I don't know why, but I was very impressed with this. It touched my heart to see a man taking his time to talk and teach his son how to live well. The monetary aspect was a good teaching point, but I was mostly touched by how he talked to the boy. There was respect and love, as well as practicality, in his voice.

I'm sure this man had places to be and other things to do that day, but he seemed to understand that taking his time in the tissue aisle had value too.

I hope to be that kind of parent someday.