Precious Metal

Torpedo chose to wake up early to join me on a grocery shopping trip. While we were there he saw something he really wanted, a king sized Snickers bar. It cost $1.19. I told him that I would buy it for him if he would pay me back with his own money when we got home. He agreed.

I am not a fast shopper, but he held onto that candy bar the whole time. I am also not a purchaser of small quantities. We provision every two weeks. For a family of 7 that fills two shopping carts. Tornado tracked his Snickers on the conveyer belt. It didn't look so king sized in the moving jungle of staple food items. After I finished loading the trunk and backseat with half a month's worth of food, I checked Tornado's seatbelt. He still had his candy bar in hand and it was still wrapped.

"When are you going to eat that candy bar?" I asked.

"When I give you the money for it," Tornado answered.

I assumed he would eat it as soon as the cashier handed it to him. It was paid for. But he knew he hadn't paid for it. Instead of telling him to go ahead an eat it, I supported his instincts and said, "You are an honest boy. You're going to be a wonderful young man someday."

He received the praise and beamed, "Yeah. When I'm a teenager, I'm going to be a ninja!"

As soon as we got home, Torpedo ran for his bank and handed over a pile of nickels, dimes, and a couple of quarters. Then he happily tore into his Snickers. To me, it was precious metal. A boy with that kind of discipline definitely has what it takes to be a ninja!