“Mabel, do you want to go with me to choose a teacher gift for Ms. Ermie? This is your last week of school,” I asked.

“Yes! And I know where I want to go! I went there before with Mommy. I saw something that Ms. Ermie will love!” Mabel said.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I’ll show you,” Mabel replied.

Mabel is an incredibly observant 4-year-old and has pretty much memorized the entire

5-block radius that surrounds our apartment. I followed her as she rode her scooter down the sidewalk, until we reached her destination. Mabel announced “Here we are!” as she rode her scooter through the open doors of the 99-cents store.

Mabel went directly to the toy aisle and quickly scanned the shelves, before exclaiming, “Here it is! The doctor’s kit!” Mabel held up a bright pink plastic doctor’s kit with a $3.99 price tag.

As a teacher myself, I have received lots of end-of-year gifts. Coffee mugs, photo frames, gift cards, and thank you notes are pretty customary. I felt the need to intervene.

“Why don’t we walk to another store and see if we can find something else?” I asked her.

“But I already KNOW what I want to get,” Mabel said, tears beginning to fill her eyes. “Ms. Ermie doesn’t have a doctor’s kit in her classroom and I know she’ll love it.”

I bent down next to Mabel, glanced at the doctor’s kit and then looked into her eyes.

“I think the new kids will like it too,” she told me. She paused for a moment, and then added, “I’m not going to be in Ms. Ermie’s class anymore. I only have two more days.”

Her tears overflowed. 

I suddenly realized Mabel was seeking to find a meaningful way to say goodbye to her teacher. In her own small way, she was gifting Ms. Ermie with a legacy gift. A legacy gift that new students could enjoy in Ms. Ermie’s classroom the next school year.  

In our family, we try to choose gifts for others that are meaningful, practical, or have a story. This little plastic doctor’s kit fit all of the criteria. The doctor’s kit represented something deeply significant for Mabel.

I hugged Mabel and said, “I think this is the perfect teacher gift for Ms. Ermie. Let’s choose a card for her too, and we can write a little note to her about the gift.”

Mabel nodded and said, “Oooh! I even know a store where we can go to buy wrapping paper!”

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