I was waiting on line at a store in the mall today with a friend, waiting a half hour to pay for some gifts. During this time, a lot of time is spent with wandering eyes, noticing things around you.
I noticed a young girl with a brand new lollipop in her right hand, just starting to open it, and a new, unopened one in her right hand. This girl, probably all of three years old, was holding her dad's hand as they waited on the line two people behind myself and my friend.
As the line slowly progresses forward, two soldiers walked into the store. They were wearing their full military uniforms and obviously shopping together. Instantly, these two men caught this young girl's eye. She quickly turned to her dad, "Daddy, why are they wearing those funny costumes?" (I must say, eavesdropping on a loud, cute little girl seems wrong but nearly unavoidable in these circumstances).
Her dad responded, "Those are soldiers. They are in the army."
Girl- "Like you were a long time ago, Daddy?"
Dad- "Yes. They are fighting like I was."
Girl- "Are they away from home a lot?"
Dad- "Oh yeah, for at least 6 months at a time."
Girl- "Don't you think they miss their mommies?"
Dad- "I bet they do, a lot."
Girl- "I wonder if Santa is going to bring them presents."
Her dad didn't answer right away, and suddenly his cell phone rang. As he reached into his pocket, his daughter slithered out of the grasp of his hand and scurried towards these two soldiers. Her dad came after her, but couldn't catch her as she ran through columns of clothing items. She quickly approached one of the soldiers and tugged on his leg. They both turned around and looked at her.
"My daddy has the same costume as you guys in his closet. I bet your mommies love you very much. When I see you guys I'm supposed (she said "appost") to say thank you. So Merry Christmas." And with that she gave each of the soldiers one lollipop and ran back in line with her dad, who whispered something in her ear I couldn't hear.
About 30 seconds later the two soldiers walked over to the line and tapped the girl on the shoulder. They both kneeled down on one knee, and one of them spoke.
Soldier- "Thank you very much for the lollipops, but they're yours, we don't want them."
Girl- "No it's a present, you can't give a present back."
Soldier- "It's OK. Part of the reason we wear these 'costumes' is so that girls like you can enjoy your own lollipops. Your daddy can tell you that, he'll know."
Dad- "Where are you stationed?"
Soldier #2- "Sir, we would like to say thank you. Your daughter made our trip home worthwhile. We leave next week for Iraq."
Original Post