It's The Ugliest Act of Kindness Ever

When we were at Disney, we visited a go-cart track slash gator farm, because everything in Florida is a "slash gator farm." The go-carts were one of the highlights of our week, and we spent the week at Disney! The gators were rather "meh." Also involved were arcade and carnival type games, with an entire cupful of tokens for each kid to play with. The tickets we collectively won were piled higher than I stood, at least in my memory. Because the kids all pooled their tickets together, they picked and chose little things to make sure everyone had enough to go around. A candy bar here, a bouncy ball there, and then Micah saw Barney.

I have never been a fan of Barney. Ever. I deprived the children of the privilege of watching Barney when they were little because I found him annoying. But Micah is The Spoiled One and gets to do what he wants. I blame the iPad, and Netflix. He can take Barney and hide out in the basement and I'm completely unaware that there is a monstrous purple dinosaur in my house. And he must be doing this exact thing, because not only was he aware of what Barney was, but he wanted Barney badly. And as that was the last day of our vacation, he was overtired and out of sorts and not able to be reasoned with. The unfortunate thing is that we did not have enough tickets left to get Barney with. I tried reasoning with Micah, even though I knew it was futile, but he would have none of it.

See the Doritos, right beside Barney? That's what you really want, right?

No.

See the Cool Ranch Doritos? How about those?

No.

A handful of Tootsie Rolls? A few bouncy balls? Funky glasses?

NO.

And just as I was ready to just march his grumpy little self right out of the arcade with absolutely nothing at all, the kind lady behind the counter reached for Barney, took the price sticker off, winked at me, and handed it to Micah. It was one of those moments that catch me off guard, and while I should have said with certainty, "thank you, but he really doesn't deserve it with the attitude he's displaying," instead I was too choked up to do anything more than wipe a tear and smile appreciation at the owner. She was the kindest soul we'd encountered that week, and being that Disney cast members are trained to make you feel like the only guest the park has, (and they go so much further out of their way to make sure kids like Micah have the Best. Time. Ever) that's saying a LOT. This arcade owner doted on Micah from the moment she saw him walk in, and it was truly her pleasure to grant him a purple, monstrous wish.

Micah kissed Barney, signed "thank you" to the wonderful lady, and promptly sat down on the floor to play. For someone who doesn't play with stuffed animals (EVER), Micah has played with that Barney doll a LOT since we've been home. And I was just thanking God for that sweet lady again today as I picked Barney up off the floor so that Jack didn't gnarl him up.

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Tonight, we took the kids to the county fair. This is the last fun of the summer, and something that we do as a family every year. Some years we have livestock there, some years we have artwork there, and some years (like this one) we simply go to enjoy it.

Sam and I took the little boys, while Becky drove her and her brothers (or brother and cousin, but he's like a brother. We call him one of ours.), and they picked up two friends of the boys along the way. So the teens hung out together while Sam and I gave the grand tour to the elementary age set. We caught up with the teens at the fairway. The teen boys were lined up at a shooting booth, trying to find a cup with a prize under it. There were no winners among our crew of sharpshooters.

Micah elbowed his way between two oversized teen boys to watch the action, and grab a gun when it was set down. He was eyeballing the line of prizes, just over the counter from where he stood. As we were deciding on which ride to head to first, I saw something out of the corner of my eye that  completely made my night. The carnie reached behind him, snagged a bright orange alligator, and handed it to Micah. And he acted like it wasn't a big deal, either. I know these guys. I've been going to the same fair since I was 9. It's the same company that puts on the fairway show every year. Different workers, of course, but the same breed of people. And this is the end of a very long summer for them. They are tired of traveling, and dealing with kids, and ready to close things up for another year and just get on with life. Their patience is thin, their language sometimes quite colorful because of it, and they're someone you want to give a wide berth to. If you don't have money for them, they want you to move on. But this guy proved them all wrong, and simply gave a prize to Micah for no reason whatsoever.

Micah kissed the alligator like it was a newborn baby, and signed a hearty "thank you" to the man who had already turned to the next group of sharpshooters.

I thought again of the lady who gifted us Barney, and my heart overflowed, again, at the kindness that is showered upon Micah. It's the unexpected blessings that catch me off guard and make me cry. Micah has shown us, time and again, that people are inherently good, and I love that.