"If you’re going to have childhood dreams you should have great parents who let you pursue them and express your creativity"
— Randy Pausch
I read a great book a few years ago, The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch. That book has really stuck with me, especially when it comes to my kids.
Zach came home from daycare yesterday with this great plan to paint rocks and then sell them. Just plain old rocks from the driveway. So he got all set up with his paints, and painted rocks for 3 hours. He put them under the fan to make sure they dried, and made a sign to put up at his table so people knew to stop.
He asked me if he could have a sale, and I said of course you can. So I now needed to make sure his little dream wasn't crushed, so I made some calls and posted his rock sale on my Facebook page.
""Give yourself permission to dream. Fuel your kids' dreams too. Once in a while, that might even mean letting them stay up past their bedtimes." pg 133, The Last Lecture"
— Randy Pausch
— Randy Pausch
Now I have to tell you that I have great friends, in fact I have some of the best friends anyone could ask for, and I knew they would come by, and of course they did, because that is what you do for each other, support each other and their dreams, as well as your children's dreams. So the fact that my friends all came over and spent $2 for a rock, did not surprise me at all. What did surprise me were all the people that stopped that we didn't even know. The only thing his little sign said was "stop". No "Rock Sale", no special fund raiser, just Stop. And there he stood waiving to all the cars as they drove by, and perfect strangers gave my son $2 for a rock that he painted, just because.
Now I hate to admit this, but I normally don't stop when I see a lemonade stand. But that will never happen again. I will ALWAYS stop when I see kids on the side of the road no matter what they are selling. I will even keep cash n my car, just for those occasions, as I am not a person who normally has cash on me.
So thank you Randy Pausch for the amazing things that I learned from reading your book and watching your lecture, you were an amazing man, and this world truly needs more people like you. And Thank you to everyone who stopped and gave my little Zach money for a hand painted rock.
"Follow your passions, believe in karma, and you won't have to chase your dreams, they will come to you."
— Randy Pausch
— Randy Pausch
"Time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think."
What a lovely post! I love Randy Pausch. One of my favorite childhood memories is trucking down to the "busy street" with my brother to sell lemonade. I remember that a bus driver and a cop stopped and bought a glass. I always try to stop when I see them.
ReplyDeleteI'm teary-eyed after reading that! You are a good mom. And those people who stopped are awesome. AND You've inspired me to stop whenever kids are selling something on the side of the road.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post! And what a fabulous job your son did selling his rocks. Tell him I said congratulations on his sales.
ReplyDeleteApplauding you and all those who stopped!!
Hugs
SueAnn
I am totally welling up with tears right now. I cannot believe how precious this is. You are wonderful for simply saying yes and not telling him to write any more on the sign, you left it all up to him. I am so going to take a lesson from you, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the most heartfelt and FUNNIEST things I have read in awhile. Literally in tears, laughing and thinking about how cool and sweet that was. Even got my husband teary-eyed.
ReplyDeleteAw, your post has me in tears! I LOVE this!! It reminded me of my grandmother! A few years ago she was bored & decided to paint some of the larger rocks in her yard {the decorative garden{ish} ones.} She passed away last summer & there were enough of her silly painted rocks for each of us grandkids to each take one home. Now we all have one of Nana's rocks in our gardens.
ReplyDeleteI too will be buying lots of lemonade {and rocks} from now on!
This is so touching! I loved The Last Lecture and still feel inspired by Randy Pausch's words. I'm sure your son is so grateful to have such a supportive mom who believes in him :)
ReplyDeleteAwww, how sweet! What great friends you have, too. I always stop when I see a lemonade stand. It's a little thing, but it means a lot to little people! Who knows what that rock selling stand will lead to?
ReplyDeleteI got so many goosebumps from your post. Just lovely. My parents were just like you and would let me sell all sorts of random stuff I'd made in the driveway. I haven't let my 6 year old do it yet because I don't want her to get disappointed if she doesn't make anything but I should and I should do what you did and ask my mates to pop around. Great idea and a lovely story.
ReplyDeleteYes, a tear jerker! So sweet and inspiring! Thank you! I remember when I was a kid I tried to sell colored water :-) of course there was no facebook to spread the word, but a young teen boy up the road stopped on his bike and bought some from me. i remember that vividly 30 years later.
ReplyDeleteIn spite of what the news reports suggest people really are good.
ReplyDeleteI love that your son had this spirit.
What a great blog post - one of my all time favorites. The story was so great and the pic of your little guy waving to the car is priceless. Thank you so much for sharing. Would you mind if I posted a linke to this on my blog?
ReplyDeleteI like everyone else who commented am touched by your post. I admired Randy Pausch and read his book to remind me how to live my life.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the nudge I needed to put things in perspective again... I too will be stopping at any roadside, curbside, childhood business stand and will make a point to have that extra cash in my car as well.
Thank you.
So cute! What a fun mom you are!
ReplyDeleteI have a little rock lover too. I never carry cash on me and now I will just for the little stands I might come across this summer.
What a beautiful story! Those quotes are so... true! They remind of topics that were discussed during lectures I sat through in college when I was earning my degree in Child Development. :) I've got to read that book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
You reminded me that I need to buy The Last Lecture!! What a sweet, sweet story. My boy has his heart set on having a lemonade stand. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, that's sweet! I also painted our driveway rocks when I was a kid and sold them at the end of the driveway ... except we lived out on an old country road an no one drove by! :o)
ReplyDelete