One Sunday, a mother took her son and little daughter to watch a circus. In the middle of the circus, the little girl, Jenny, who was two years old, fell asleep in her mother's lap. The brother, Jack, who was six, stayed awake, and watched the rest of the circus with his mother. When it was over, the mother picked up Jenny in her arms and carried her to the bus station. It was very cold that night, so she took off her scarf and gently covered Jenny's head with it.
When they arrived home, the mother first carried Jenny into the bed room and put her to sleep. After Jack had changed his clothes, his mother lay down next to him to talk about the evening together. "How did you like it, Jack?" "Fine, he answered."Did you have fun?""Yes". "What did you like most?" "I don't know. The elephant dance, I guess.""That was quite a thing, wasn't it doing those tricks like that?" There wasn’t much response on his part. The mother wondered why her son wasn't opening up more. He usually did when exciting things happened. She was a little disappointed.
She sensed something was wrong: he had been so quiet on the way home and while getting ready for bed. Suddenly Jack turned over on his side, facing the wall. She wondered why and lifted him up just enough to see his eyes welling up with tears. "What's wrong, honey? What is it?" He turned back, and she could sense he was feeling some embarrassment for the tears and his shivering lips and chin. "Mom, if I were cold, would you put your scarf around me, too?" Of all the events of that special evening out together, for Jack the most important was a little act of affection - a momentary, unconscious showing of her love to his little sister.
Moral: In relationships, little things matter the most.
