Two Quarters Worth of Dreams

I cannot be the only one...who relishes in the pure delight and joy their child feels when they find a pair of shiny quarters in the midst of a routine activity, like walking the dog.  This particular kind of joy my son exhibited, with his new found wealth in hand, is an emotion that drifted away from me as I was sucked deeper into the world of paying car payments and property taxes, otherwise know as adulthood.

As my son and I walked with our pooch on leash he spotted the shiny treasure on the sidewalk a few feet ahead of us. He felt the need to run the distance to gather the two quarters into his sweaty palm to be sure no one else would beat him to them, although there wasn't another soul walking down that sidewalk. After my son's initial whooping at such a lucky find he began to plan how we would spend his new come by wealth.  His plans started with a new toy, progressed to a Halloween decoration skull from the hardware store, and went as far as a video game.  I decided to offer my suggestions, suggestions that were a little more doable with fifty cents, an ice cream cone or a toy from the quarter machine at the supermarket, these ideas left my son appalled.  He was confused by my meager plans for his fortune, while looking at his disappointed face I remembered the big dreams of childhood, and I got with the program telling him he should look into a rocket ship to the moon with his new found shekels.  We rounded the corner to our house, still spilling over with big dreams for his kings ransom, and as we walked to the front door my son had come to the decision to drop those quarters into his piggy bank until he made up his mind what best to spend them on.

That afternoon I sent a silent thanks to that careless walker with a hole in their pocket for giving my son the opportunity to remind me to dream a little bigger every once in awhile, it doesn't hurt, and it makes for a great conversation with my boy.