Five Dollars

There is currently a KFC commercial on TV where a boy, probably college aid, gets $5 from a relative and she tells him to go "buy something nice".  The point of the commercial is that he takes his 5 bucks and buys a ton of artery clogging food at KFC.   I get what KFC is doing...it's a nice marketing blurb.

But, I was thinking about the person sho sent the $$ and felt she was being made fun of.  Yep, it's hard to "buy something nice" for $5 but I'd take it.  And be grateful for it.  I know it's a commercial and not real but I know it happens in real life.  Someone who doesn't have a lot of money wants to give a gift.  I know when both of my grandparents lived only on Social Security of less than $300 month.   $5, especially for each grandchild, was a chunk of change.  They didn't go hungry--no one would have let be hungry--but I know they weren't going into their millions of dollars of savings.

I worked at a poor school and we had a grandmother with 3 granddaughters who brought in $$ every month to "put on their books" so when it came picture time or field trip time it would be paid for. These grandparents might have been ok but I'm pretty sure they didn't plan on raising 3 little girls after their children left home.  And $5 per child is a big deal.

So when you get your $5 from someone, don't wonder what you can get for it.  You can go to KFC. Thnik about the love and possible sacrifice behind the gift.