Did you help someone today?

Ever since our children started school, Paul started up this daily mantra with them as they were getting out of the car: "Be sure and help somebody today." We got a lot of quizzical looks for awhile there, but after the first year it began to sink in.

"Did you help somebody today?" "Yes, somebody was picking on Chad and I went over to be his friend." "Yes, I picked up the book that Mrs. Foster dropped." Every time we got some kind of response, it felt like a moral victory.

Paul is in India on business right now, so I've been single parenting and have not remembered to ask The Question every day. Survival has been the goal.

Last week one night, we were IM'ing with Paul. Alex was the one who brought it up: "Daddy, did you help somebody today?" There was a pause, then Paul wrote back, "Well, I hope I did in the classes I'm teaching here." Then he wrote, "Did YOU help somebody today?" Alex and Meredith both thought for a minute and said, "Well, no." So Paul typed back, "Did anybody help YOU today?" Again, they were at a loss for an answer. So Paul started in with the litany:
Did anybody take you to school this morning?
Did anybody clean the bathrooms at your school?
Did anybody grow the food you ate today?
Did anybody teach you anything?
You get the idea....

It's been a good lesson for all of us: we have something for which to be grateful every day. Hopefully, each of us has helped someone; for sure, many someones have helped us. Most of us reading this are well out of elementary school. But the questions remain: Did you help someone today? Did someone help you today? Be sure to say thank you.