Mac's Generous Nature



Dollar bills stapled to the ceiling of Rosie's restaurant in Slade, KY


I was recently talking to a friend about how generous my son, Mac, is. He is getting ready to donate bone marrow; something I don't think I could do, but am not surprised at all that Mac is generously willing to do this for a stranger. Mac is generous by nature. Always has been.

I started thinking about the first time I really realized this. I think I'd taken it for granted until I took him to work with me when he was about seven years old. It was Bring Your Child To Work Day. I was working in a medical insurance office inside a six-storied office building. On the first floor there was a cafeteria, convenience store, dry cleaners, and ATM. You get the picture.

I'd actually taken Mac to work with me several other times at previous jobs. He knew his way around an office and office machinery, so on this particular day, I volunteered his services to anyone who needed help. He made copies, sorted office supplies, ran envelopes through the stamp machine, etc.. Then my friend Joan gave him a project to do. I think it involved looking through pages of printouts, highlighting something or other. He happily did the task and offered to do more.

Joan (who also has a generous heart) paid Mac $2 for helping her. She told him he'd earned a break and suggested he go down to the convenience store and get a treat. He took the elevator downstairs and she expected to see him back up in a few minutes with candy and junk food in hand. But when he got off the elevator, he was gingerly carrying a cup of hot coffee. For me.

Joan was so impressed with what a wonderful, thoughtful child he was to spend his money on his mother instead of buying something for himself. She couldn't get over it. I was touched at his sweetness and generosity, too, and a little surprised to see him with coffee since I had already gone into the break room and refilled my coffee cup several times that day. (We always had a pot going (for free).) But Mac used his money to buy me a coffee. I know it made him feel good to have $2 in his hand and be able to do something for his mom. He's always been like that. Still is. I could describe a thousand similar circumstances that demonstrate his generosity, but that one always sticks out in my mind.