Cold Honest Truth in a Parking Lot

It has been bitterly cold in my hometown. The temperature rarely reaching its fingers towards the norm. And with this sustained unusual freeze, behaviour has frayed. Common decency has declined, people are cutting corners.

The typically polite have become short-tempered, the usual joyous faces are strained. We are tired of bundling up just to cross a parking lot, and heaving ourselves and what we are carrying over the snow banks pushed towards the sidewalks. We are walking cautiously as ice lurks when we are not watching.

Appointments have been postponed. Running around errands still sit on people's lists.

But today the groceries had to be done.

As I started my usual hour-long ordeal I made my way across the parking lot to get a shopping cart. A mother and about ten-year-old son were finished their groceries and were retrieving their loonie as they pushed their cart into alignment to unlock the release. The young lad pushed with all his might and then stopped with delight as he saw the bag left behind in the lower shelf of the cart next to him.

Look Mom, he shrieked with glee. The bag that someone had forgotten in their haste held a big bag of potato chips, a couple of bottles of coke and several large chocolate bars.

We can't do that, his Mom shook her head. But they LEFT it, the young guy said. They won't come back! NO ONE will know. I LOVE those potato chips.

But those things are not ours, Mom said, as she looked seriously into her son's eyes. We might forget something one day and wouldn't it be nice if someone returned it to us. They might come back. And we will know.

I pushed my cart behind the Mom and son as they made their way back through the parking lot to return the bag of groceries to customer service.

And WHO would know?

I know. They know. And now you know too.

Simple cold honest truth in the parking lot. (Tweet This)

Life lesson on honesty from Mom to son in a parking lot. (Tweet This)


Now tell me, how will you pass on the life lesson on honesty?