I’m an “oldest sibling,” so the only time that I would have remembered not having to share would have been between birth and twenty-three months old…and that memory is shaky at best. However, this never bothered me. In fact, it made life a great deal more fun. My siblings and I have shared couch cushions to ‘fake surf’ on, sweaters when one of us (cough, my sister Lacy, cough) got too cold and we had to stop her lips from turning blue, and oh, have we ever shared our opinions. Trust me when I say, that’s for another post. I’m also keenly aware that so many people are still not able to share with the ones they love in real time during this COVID pandemic. It was at the start of last year, as we sat in the school library reviewing cleaning protocols and material management in our classroom, that a kindergarten teacher jokingly muttered to me, “Well, I guess ‘sharing is caring’ goes out the window, huh?” So in classic Stacy fashion, this made me even more determined to make sure that these lessons not fall to the wayside during a time when we probably need it the most.
I chose this topic because I love Jon Muth’s Stone Soup. This is a tale of three strangers who wrangle up an entirely skeptical town in their quest to create a hearty soup. The ingredients donated by the townspeople prompts a greater lesson in the importance of sharing and the spirit of generosity. Google the term and you’ll find writing programs, theater companies, and even Dolly Parton have trademarked stone soup. It’s totally in! So, whether you are sharing food, sharing secrets, sharing jeans, or sharing book titles, this is a topic that can never truly go out the window. When we share, we build trust, connection, memories, understanding, vulnerability, and even deliciousness…and that can definitely be worth celebrating!
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