Teaching

Today a few of us went to lunch at a buffet after church. While in line making a beautiful salad (if I do say so myself), I was behind a man and a boy, approximately age 6, (who I assume was the gentleman's son), making their salads. The man was extremely kind and patient with the boy, as he asked him to pick out the things he wanted - didn't get mad when the boy wanted to go back to get something he'd missed, etc. But this next happening was the thing that made me the most happy. You might think it a small thing, and you might think it silly that I'm making a big deal about it, but to me, this move embodied what a father (or a grandfather, a mother, a grandmother - anyone who is helping to teach and/or rear a child) would do. The man asked the boy what kind of dressing he wanted on his salad and proceeded to tell him his choices. The boy replied, "what is bleu cheese?" The man didn't miss a beat - he said, "here's the best thing to do. Take the spoon in the dressing and put just a little bit on the edge of your plate. Then take your finger - just your little finger and dip the tip just a little in that dressing and taste it. If you like it, we'll put it on your salad." He could have just blown the kid off, saying, you probably wouldn't like it anyway or he could have gotten impatient with the boy taking up extra time. But he didn't. He just waited and instructed. Now, I really don't remember if the boy like the dressing or not, but I was so impressed with the time, patience and actual instructions the man gave the boy. Life lessons, even with something so "trivial" as finding out if you like a salad dressing or not. We could use more "elder" people teaching the young ones in such a fashion. Pass on some of the hard earned wisdom you have acquired to someone younger than you today - that's how we leave a legacy!