Madison is ten, and like many ten-year-olds is ten going on thirty sometimes. She’s a little girl at heart, but at the same time has an unbelievable understanding of humanity for her age. She works with us at Be the Change as a “Junior Board Member.” Unfortunately, due to age, she does not have a vote in decisions, and I am not sure we’d leave major decisions up to the ten-year-old anyway! However, she has contributed in so many ways that are not seen by others, but that force us, as adults making the decisions, to examine what is really important in our work.
In preparation for my second trip to Thailand in 2006 to deliver school supplies to needy children there, I spent many hours shopping for supplies. I worked the summer before this as my last summer as a nanny. Madison was often one of the children in my care. During a shopping trip I noticed Madison opening EVERY single box of 24 crayons that went into the cart. It was taking quite a while, I was getting a little inpatient I will admit, and the other 4 kids with me had one thing on their mind…getting to the pool. I finally asked her, probably with impatience in the tone of my voice, what on earth she was doing opening every box. She was standing on the end of the cart bent over the edge, and just as she opened yet another box she looked at me and said “I am making sure they all have points. You can’t give broken crayons to kids.” This was such a simple concept to her. She answered me with her own tone of voice, as if to say I can’t believe I have to even explain this to you!
I’ve never forgotten this. Since that trip in 2006, I have traveled to the Dominican Republic with crayons 3 times, and I have shipped many boxes to places in Thailand. Every time I go through every box of crayons. Even when we finally reached Thailand in 2006 I went through every box. The luggage had been on many planes and traveled far. I wanted to ensure no crayons had broken in transit. Every now and then there is a box with a few broken points. I pull it aside and think that somewhere in the world there is a child who will be thankful for Madison ’s attention to detail. Sometimes I get impatient going through every single box, but in my heart I am always thankful to the 10-year-old who taught me that the love, the message that you matter, really is in the details.
There is something almost magical about crayons. A pack of 24 crayons really has the ability to change the look on a child’s face and the feeling in their heart. There is something about the sight of new points, and the smell of a new box that sends the message to children that they matter. I think for them it is more than the scent of crayons, it is the scent of possibility.
In preparation for my second trip to Thailand in 2006 to deliver school supplies to needy children there, I spent many hours shopping for supplies. I worked the summer before this as my last summer as a nanny. Madison was often one of the children in my care. During a shopping trip I noticed Madison opening EVERY single box of 24 crayons that went into the cart. It was taking quite a while, I was getting a little inpatient I will admit, and the other 4 kids with me had one thing on their mind…getting to the pool. I finally asked her, probably with impatience in the tone of my voice, what on earth she was doing opening every box. She was standing on the end of the cart bent over the edge, and just as she opened yet another box she looked at me and said “I am making sure they all have points. You can’t give broken crayons to kids.” This was such a simple concept to her. She answered me with her own tone of voice, as if to say I can’t believe I have to even explain this to you!
I’ve never forgotten this. Since that trip in 2006, I have traveled to the Dominican Republic with crayons 3 times, and I have shipped many boxes to places in Thailand. Every time I go through every box of crayons. Even when we finally reached Thailand in 2006 I went through every box. The luggage had been on many planes and traveled far. I wanted to ensure no crayons had broken in transit. Every now and then there is a box with a few broken points. I pull it aside and think that somewhere in the world there is a child who will be thankful for Madison ’s attention to detail. Sometimes I get impatient going through every single box, but in my heart I am always thankful to the 10-year-old who taught me that the love, the message that you matter, really is in the details.
There is something almost magical about crayons. A pack of 24 crayons really has the ability to change the look on a child’s face and the feeling in their heart. There is something about the sight of new points, and the smell of a new box that sends the message to children that they matter. I think for them it is more than the scent of crayons, it is the scent of possibility.
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