On
Monday afternoon my eldest nephew, who started school in September, snuggled
beside me on the sofa to show me what he’d been learning.
Still
dressed in school uniform, looking far too grown up, he thumbed through his
workbook, explained each page and then decided it was time to test my number
skills. He randomly pointed at a ‘7’ and said, “What’s this number?”
“Seven?”
“Correct.”
This
continued until I’d named all 20 numbers and Joshy finally declared, “Yes, you’ve
done it.”
“Do
I get a sticker?” I asked with a smile.
Joshy
thought for a moment (a fleeting look I wish I could capture and keep) before
these words fell as beautifully as sycamore seeds from his mouth:
“You
can have my sticker,” he said as he peeled a small black and yellow sticker
from his jumper, “It’s from my orange.”
I
don’t think I’ve ever really appreciated a fruit sticker before; I’ve certainly
never loved one, but, as Joshy pressed this one onto my knitted cardigan, I
loved it. Not because it was aesthetically pleasing (because it wasn’t) and not
– like those metallic stars from my own school days – because it marked an
achievement, but rather I loved it because it was kindness in its simplest and
purest terms.
To
Joshy it wasn’t complicated like the subtraction he’s grappling with, and it
wasn’t homework he’ll be marked on and praised for, yet, he still gave his
sticker freely, asking for nothing in return and reminding me that some things
just can’t be measured by numbers.
Thank
you for reading,
Lara
2 comments:
I wish there was a 'Heartwarming' tick I could use at the bottom of that post. (ADMIN!)
:)
Yes. If it comes to a choice between kindness or maths I will pick kindness 99 times out 100.
:-)
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