by Carrie Montgomery, age 12
The screen door slammed behind Megan Henderson as she scurried outside of their house to the waiting car.
"Sorry
I'm late," she apologized hurriedly as she hopped in.
"Seems
like we've been waiting for hours," her younger sister Emaleigh
rolled her eyes in disgust. Seeing Mom's frown, she quickly lowered
her eyes to her book again. It seemed that Emaleigh was always
reading something or other.
"Watch
your tone, Emaleigh," Mom admonished. She turned back to her
driving, and soon they turned down the road to school.
Megan
glanced down to her shoes. They were a
bit scuffed up, she decided. "Mom, can you buy me more shoes?"
She looked hopefully at Mom.
"No,
dear. You just got those a few weeks ago, and money is a little tight
right now," Mom explained.
Disappointed,
Megan was quiet the remainder of the car ride.
When
they arrived at their destination, a large brick school, Megan
energetically jumped out of the car, her usual good spirits
returning.
The
morning breezed by in a hurry, and lunch hour made its appearance.
Megan slid into her favorite spot beside her best friend Melissa.
Other girls came, too, and soon a lively conversation was going.
Quickly, though, it turned to a rather unwelcome subject.
"Our
family got a new pool this summer," wealthy Victoria bragged.
"Oh,
and did I tell you about my classy computer that I got for my
birthday?" Ashtyn added, glancing at some of the girls she knew
were poorer than the rest. She turned to Megan. "What did you
get for your birthday?" she questioned curiously.
Megan
bit her lip, sure that her gift was not half as special as Ashtyn's.
"I got a skateboard," she smiled, hoping that would pass as
okay.
It
did, but Megan's mind was still troubled by the incident. "Why
are we so poor?" she wondered miserably. "It's just not
fair," her mind protested further. "Ashtyn and Victoria can
have anything they want. Their parents don't say,'Money is a
little tight right now,'" And Megan became grumpier and grumpier
as her mind continued to dwell on that subject.
After
she got home from school that day, she stomped up to her room and
threw herself on her bed. She lay there complaining to herself for
quite a while.
"Megan!
Where are you?" Mom called a few hours later. "Dinner is
ready."
Megan
trudged into the kitchen and heaved a loud sigh as she sat down. Dad
frowned at her, but he did not comment.
Dinner
consisted of vegetable stew, bread, and cheese. Megan scowled at the
soup in her bowl.
"If
we weren't so poor," she mumbled under her breath, "we
wouldn't have to eat dumb things like vegetable stew." She
quickly stopped muttering, however, when Mom raised her eyebrows at
her.
The
following Sunday, Dad announced that they were going to go visit
Kenneth and Lydia Johnson, an elderly couple that lived nearby. The
Henderson's climbed in the car and were off, driving the few miles to
the Johnson's tiny cottage. When they arrived, Kenneth hobbled slowly
out to meet them.
"Welcome,
welcome," he greeted, his face all smiles. "Lydia is
inside, feeling a bit poorly."
"I
hope we did not come at a bad time, with Lydia sick and all,"
Dad worried.
"Not
at all, not at all. I do declare, we are always glad for company,"
Kenneth hastened to reassure him as he led the way to their cramped
cabin.
Upon
entering the house, Megan was surprised by its barrenness. There was
hardly any furniture, save a few of the more necessary items. The
worn tile floor and faded walls did not help its appearance any,
either.
They
found Lydia lying on a rickety couch in the main room. She was
pleased to see them, too. Greetings were exchanged, news was told,
and songs were sung. The enjoyable visit passed by quickly, and all
too soon it was time to go home.
As
soon as they got home, Emaleigh headed up stairs to her room. Megan
plopped down on the couch and picked up a magazine. Soon Mom and Dad
joined her in the living room and started reading books of their own.
"Mom?"Megan
asked. She walked over to Mom with a puzzled expression on her face.
"What?"
Mom asked, looking up from her book.
"Who
are these children playing in the dirt? And how can they look so
happy if they have to play in the dirt?" She showed Mom the
pictures of the kids in the magazine.
"Well,
Megan, those are African children. And as to why they look so
content, I think they have learned the secret of being cheerful even
when they own so little. Think of the Johnson's. Do you remember how
content they were?"
"Yeah,
and their house was really small and their furniture was really old,"
Megan agreed, nodding her head vigorously.
Dad joined them on the couch. "Mom and I have noticed that you have been complaining a lot recently about how 'poor' we are," He added soberly. "We have decided that to help you learn to be content with what you have and not be greedy for more and more and more, you should not receive your allowance this week to remind you of those that can be happy even when they live in poverty."
Dad joined them on the couch. "Mom and I have noticed that you have been complaining a lot recently about how 'poor' we are," He added soberly. "We have decided that to help you learn to be content with what you have and not be greedy for more and more and more, you should not receive your allowance this week to remind you of those that can be happy even when they live in poverty."
Megan
promised herself when she went to bed that night, "I'm sure this
punishment will teach me to be satisfied with what I do have, and not
wish for what I don't."
