Konomi has been home sick this week with a cough. (For those of you who don’t know, Konomi is our Japanese “daughter” who has lived with us for over a year now–she’s 21 and just beautiful, inside and out.) She’s doing better now, but she had a rough couple of days.

She and Claire share a bedroom and also a very special bond. For years, Claire has been begging us for a sister. We earnestly tried to oblige, but all she got out of us are three adorable brothers. But Claire recently informed me sweetly that it’s okay that we had a boy again (thank you for that, Claire! :-)) because she does have a sister now–Konomi.

Well, the other day, the child took my breath away again. Claire came in the kitchen as I was making dinner and dumped out her little change purse containing her allowance (that she has been saving up for a couple months to buy some fancy-dressed Barbie doll). She examined her 600 Japanese yen on the table and asked,

“Is this enough to buy some chicken noodle soup and some flowers for Konomi? Since she’s sick?”

I told her that we already had some chicken noodle soup in the pantry, but that we could certainly go buy Konomi some flowers. I was strangely tempted to pay for them myself and just letting her keep her money, but something in me said, “No, let her do this.” How odd of me to want to take that from her. Generosity always costs us something, but the rewards are rich (though almost always far less tangible than a Barbie).

So after dinner, Claire and I walked down to the supermarket and Claire picked out some beautiful orange flowers for Konomi, and spent her entire allowance to bless her Japanese sister. And she blessed her mother as well. What a wonderful little woman she’s turning into.