Eli And The Gratitude Box

Eli And The Gratitude Box

 

 

This story is dedicated to my nephew, Eli. 

 

Eli groggily woke up, pulling his arm from behind his head.  He had slept well and was excited to tell his mother about what he had dreamed.  Jumping out of bed in his rocket-themed pajamas, he ran upstairs to his mother’s bedroom, threw open the door, and burst into the bed.  Bouncing up and down with excitement, his mother awoke to find the face of her 5 year old boy staring down at her with a beaming smile.

“Mama, mama!! Do you know something?” he said in his engaging way of asking a question when he wanted to tell someone something.

“Good morning Bonko Man,” his mother greeted him using the family nickname.

“Mama, wake up.  I have to tell you about my dream!”

Lazily, his mother began to sit up, wishing the coffeemaker were in the bedroom instead of downstairs in the kitchen.

“So, what did you dream about?” she asked in between yawns.

“The greatest toy ever! And I need it so bad,” Eli replied.

“What toy, son?”

“The new Golden Wheels Flying Raptor Monster Truck!! I saw it on a video last night.  I dreamt I flew in it all over the world! We need to get it today, or, or, then I will be sad,” Eli said changing his expression of joy by jutting his lower lip up and dropping his head to his chest.

Again his mother was reminded of her baby boy’s never-ending desire for a new toy.  He watched videos of kids playing with new toys, but lately Eli had become obsessed with both the videos and the toys in them.  Little did he know not everyone could afford a new toy daily and the kids in the videos were given free toys and paid to play with them by toymakers to influence exactly the kind of behavior Eli was now showing.

What am I going to do? He just got several toys for his birthday last week and he seems to have already forgotten about them. He wants a new toy almost daily and isn’t grateful for what he already has, his mother thought. With an exasperated sigh, she picked him up and took him to the kitchen, hoping a cup of coffee would energize her enough to think of how to address the issue.

As she made her hazelnut coffee, she told Eli that they would have breakfast and talk about his demand for a new toy. She gave him a bowl of yogurt with his favorite mini-chocolate pieces in it and some orange juice to drink.  Quickly finishing his breakfast, Eli hopped down from his chair and ran to his mother standing near the toaster.  He looked up at her with a smile that even when mischievous she found nearly irresistible.

“Mama, can we go to the store now?  We have to go before the Golden Wheels Flying Raptor Monster Trucks are all gone! It is the greatest toy ever and everybody wants one.  I just don’t know what I will do if I don’t get one! Please, please, please?!”

For not the first time Eli’s mother was reminded of how often her son had deemed a toy the greatest one ever- it was his favorite declaration about every new toy.  Eli stepped onto her feet and grabbed her arms.  He remained looking up at her with pleading eyes even as she shuffled across the room with his 50 pound frame glued to her to sit down. She finally reached the table, tempted to tell herself that carrying his extra weight across the room could count as a lower body workout for the day.  Sitting down, she lifted Eli to her lap after sitting down.

“Now, Eli.  Don’t you remember that you already have plans for today?  Your uncle is taking you to the park soon.  You always enjoy going to the park with him.”

“But, but, Mama, I don’t want to go.  I want to go buy my favorite new toy.”  For the first time all morning, he finally stopped to take a breath.  In doing so, a new thought entered his mind.  He rapidly lifted up one finger, looked at his mother, and said, “I know what to do.  Uncle can take me to get the toy and then we can go to the park.  This would be the perfect plan,” he said with determined hope in his eyes.

“I am not sure that Uncle will want to do that.  He just gave you a new toy for your birthday.  Why don’t you take that with you to the park to play with it?”
“But it is an old toy, and I don’t like it anymore.  I need a new toy like on the video,” Eli said unhappily.

“I am sorry, but we are not going to get a new toy today,” his mother said as she sat him down.  “Now, let’s get you dressed so you can go to the park.”

Somberly and slowly Eli made his way to his room and picked up the first clothes he could find.  His mother entered and, to her surprise, saw he had started getting dressed, albeit wearing a disgruntled look on his face.  She packed him a snack and they went to read a book until her brother arrived.

While he was away, his mother pondered and prayed about her son’s unending appetite for new toys as she finished another cup of coffee.  Well, she thought to herself, one thing that will have to change is not letting Eli watch those videos for a while.  He must learn to be grateful for what he has instead of always wanting more and those videos are doing anything but helping.  Going to the kitchen to return her coffee mug, she nearly tripped over one of Eli’s new toys from his birthday party.  She picked it up and after putting her mug in the sink, she took the toy to his bedroom.  Scanning the room, she saw dozens of toys scattered everywhere, and a giant empty toy box in the corner.  Suddenly, she had the answer to her prayer:  she would rename the toy box as the “Gratitude Box.”  As they picked up the toys, they would write down who gave him the toy and one thing about it he liked or was thankful for.  Eli’s mother got several pieces of construction paper and crayons.  By recalling what he enjoyed about the toys, and the love shown to him by the person who gave them to him, it may instill in him a grateful spirit for what he has and the fun they bring. Hopefully as he learns to read, he can be reminded of the reasons for gratitude written on the paper and make thankfulness a habit.

After his uncle dropped him off, Eli bounded up the stairs, calling his mother.   Finding her in his bedroom, he walked in, ran to her and hugged her legs.  Looking at his face, his mother saw a sad look in his eyes.

“Hi. Didn’t you have fun at the park?” She inquired.

Lowering his head, he said he had but he hadn’t gotten what he wanted.

Already knowing the answer to the question forming on her lips, she refrained from asking him what he had wanted.

“Didn’t I tell you that Uncle would probably not take you to get a new toy?”

“Yes, but, but I really needed one,” Eli said with his lip quivering.

Picking him up, his mother looked in his eyes and said that she had a special project that they could work on after he got a snack.

“Ok, Mama,” Eli replied with a whimper.

After eating the snack his attitude picked up and he asked what the project was.

“Let’s go back to your room.”

Once there, she told Eli to look around and asked if he saw anything different.  Glancing around, he noticed all of his toys gathered together in orderly piles.  He also saw that his giant dinosaur toy box looked different.  Normally it looked like a stegosaurus, but it had a new ribbon with a name on it.

“Mama, what does it say on the ribbon on the toy box?”

“It says, ‘Eli’s Gratitude Box.’”

“What does that mean?” he inquired with a curious but confused look.

“Gratitude means we are thankful and happy with what we have, honey.  It is something we all need to learn and practice.  We can’t always get what we want.  So, it is a good idea to remind ourselves to be thankful for what we have and from whom we received our blessings- whether from God or your family.”

“But I only like getting new toys,” Eli retorted.

“Are you sure?  Remember these toy dinosaurs your brother gave you for Christmas months ago?  I saw you playing with them for hours yesterday- that doesn’t sound to me like you only like playing with new toys,” his mother explained.

Eli stood still a minute thinking about what she had said.  Normally, he was not one to be still for long, so his mother knew her message was starting to sink in. Sensing that the time was right, she began to explain the project she had in mind.

“Now, let’s talk about this special project.  I arranged all of your toys in piles, and I brought construction paper and crayons to label each toy and list who gave it to you.  Your job is to think of at least one reason you are thankful for it or why you enjoy it. I want this to remind you to be grateful and help you enjoy the toys more.  You can’t always have a new toy every day. But you don’t always need a new one when you have dozens of great toys to play with.”  As his mother ended her explanation, she silently prayed that Eli would like the project and most of all, he would learn to be grateful.

Looking at his face for signs of willingness to cooperate, she suddenly saw his eyes light up.

“Wait! Mama, I have an idea!  We could give the Gratitude Box a name.  We could call it “Gratisaurus” and when I put my toys away, I could pretend I was feeding him.”

Accustomed to Eli’s creativity, she seized upon his idea.

“Yes, we can make it a game.  Gratisaurus will get hungry if you don’t feed him your toys when done playing with them and also think of the reasons you are grateful for them. You have to do both- put the toys away and tell him why you like them.”

“Mama, that sounds like fun!  I wouldn’t want Gratisaurus to go hungry.”

“And you don’t want your heart to be empty either- a heart that isn’t thankful is never truly happy because it always wants something more it doesn’t have. Do you understand?”

“I think so,” Eli consented with a smile and picked up a toy bulldozer. His mother took a strip of construction paper and a crayon and asked him why he was grateful for the toy. She wrote down his reason and the name of the giver.

“Now, go feed Gratisaurus!”

Eli ran and put the toy in the Gratitude Box, telling Gratisaurus he didn’t want him to go hungry and why he liked the toy.  After repeating the process a dozen times, his mother told him they would work on the project again tomorrow.  Hearing his siblings outside playing basketball, Eli hurried to join them.

Over time, the slips of paper on the toys reminding him to be grateful fell off and withered to the point of uselessness.  However, as Eli grew in size to the point of being bigger than Gratisaurus, the lesson his mother had taught him instilled in him a practice of being grateful he never outgrew.