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Last night I was out at Modells’ sporting goods store where I saw a little blond boy run up to the counter waving two dollars. He had to be no more than three years old and he was excited about being allowed to make a purchase. You could tell he didn’t have a lot of experience yet since the clerks’ back was turned while the boy waved the money. Everyone knows you have to wait until the clerk is looking before you wave the money.
This little guy was small too, he barely could see over the counter. Once the clerk realized the boy was there he smiled and reached for the money but asked what it is was for. That’s when the Dad told the boy, in German, to show the pink rubber ball the boy held in his other hand. Now two fists are in the air, one waving dollar bills and one grasping the ball. Everyone smiled and the clerk took the money. Trouble was though that it cost two dollars and eleven cents.
I love the equality of what happened next. The Dad, explaining that they were just in from Munich, did not actually know which of the coins in his wallet added up to the requisite eleven cents, so he had to ask the clerk! Boy and Dad were both learning something new and I love the idea that both had something to learn in the exchange. There is always room to grow. Nobody has all the answers and no one is always right. Dad held out his had full of coins and had a brief discussion with the clerk about which ones to use. The Dad and boy left with their pink rubber ball.
I felt glad to be witness to the kind of interaction that reminds me we all can learn something new today. Everyday we have the chance to be educated in some way on something we did’t know already.
Love it that the little boy got to see his dad ask to be instructed too.
My Own Personal Sky 
Lifelong learners… that’s what it’s all about!
Beth,
One of my kids explained it to me beautifully when he said, learning is not a competition, and he is so correct. Thanks for checking in.
Jane
That’s one of the prospects that gets me out of bed and glad to be alive, never know what you can experience and learn. It took me quite awhile to grasp that not everybody is like this – I’ve noticed that a LOT of people will give lip service to learning something new, and will admit to not knowing everything. But will act as if they DO know everything, as evidenced by horror at the prospect of shifting an attitude, belief, or behavior. Aaah, something else to experience.