Last week I handed out three MEDABO cards in very unlikely places. Two were on the 15X express bus from Staten Island to Manhattan and the other one was on the #4 subway.
MEDABO is a family charity. My father used to tell the kids to go out and make every day a better one and so my daughter, Alice-Kate, and her cousins decided to make it official by creating these cards. It’s mission is simple. Recognize acts of kindness and pay it forward.
Three Cards: Three Unexpected Parenting Lessons
The Sunny Bus Driver
The first card was given to the bus driver on Tuesday. She was incredibly kind to every single person who boarded the bus. Not easy to do when you’re a driver in New York City. She connected with each person and sincerely asked how they were. When one regular customer was getting on she showed true concern for his obviously failing health. It made my heart melt.
Teachable Moment
The next time I saw the driver, she told me that she had given it to her son for doing something good and she asked him to pass it along to someone else who was making a difference.
The Kind Passenger
On the following Friday, I boarded the bus but when I went to pay, I realized that the Metrocard that was in my wallet was expired. I had left the one with $20 on it on my kitchen counter. When I asked a woman who looked approachable if I could pay her in exchange for using her Metrocard, I had another jolting thought. I only had $3 on me. The fare is $6. She didn’t even blink. She just stood up and paid my fare.
Teachable Moment
We started talking about Tangled Ball and early bullying prevention. She has twin 3 year olds but she pointed out something really key to me. Her son had recently used the “hate” word at pre-school. He was quickly corrected but it left her wondering how he even knew the word? (She laughingly said that it could have been a lot of other choice words if he was mimicking her but that she actually never used the word “hate.”)
It reminded me that kids are sponges. They’ll pick up words and actions that their peers use. So even if you don’t do some things at home, once they go to school, they’re learning more than their colors.
Early course correction is a good idea.
The Wise Upstander
You run into a lot of crazy stuff on the subway. On Friday, there were a mother/daughter duo having an argument to beat all arguments. It got really heated and everyone on the train was uncomfortable. There was a sigh of relief when they got off but one gentleman didn’t just leave the crazy vibes in the air.
Teachable Moment
He said out loud,. “That’s a shame. People just don’t say I’m sorry anymore” He continued, “I’m sorry” works. As a matter of fact, I said it to my 6 year-old daughter last night. She was upset that I came home late and I looked her in the eye and said, ‘I’m sorry.’ And she was satisfied.”
His parting words of wisdom: “People are too defensive. Saying I’m sorry is really important.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Who is Making Every Day a Better One in your life?
