Remembering what's important

I love my daughter.
This has not been the greatest Christmas Eve. Natalie is sick with a cold. She is sneezing and coughing and feeling miserable. She has pretty much camped out in our bed and watched movies all day.
We had big plans to bake cookies and cupcakes for the Roat Family Christmas that was scheduled for this evening at our house. But since that had to be postponed I decided that I would make some easy chocolate chip cookies and call it good. I was getting all my stuff out and ready when Nat wondered in and asked about the cupcakes. I told her that we weren't going to make them today.
"But we HAVE to."
"Why do we HAVE to?"
"For Santa. I want to give him one too."
(chuckle chuckle)"You know sweetie, just because you leave him something better than a cookie doesn't mean you will get extra presents."
"No mom. What if he is grumpy?"
Oh, how jaded I have become. I assumed that the reason for Natalie's plan was to benefit herself. But she surprised me. You see, we have been reading a book this Christmas Season called "Grumpy Santa". He has a horrible day and is grumpy while delivering presents....until he gets to a house where some children have left him a nice note and some cookies. The message is "when people do nice things for you the grumpies disappear". My beautiful, wonderful, marvelous daughter wanted to make sure that if Santa was grumpy she would have something waiting for him that would make him happy. She didn't care if she would score big on the presents (don't worry, she will), she just wanted to make someone else happy.
It kind of reminds you of how we are really supposed to act, huh?
I love my daughter.