“Faith, Family and Friends. That’s all you need in life. No wait, Love and Kindness too. That’s all you need in life,” declared my 7-year-old daughter.

“What?!” I ask. We were out shopping for a frame to display her school artwork, and had walked down an aisle of decorative signs. She saw this gaudy floral sign that simply said “Faith. Family. Friends.”

She proceeded to explain that:
-Family is there to support us and to be there for us
-Friends are there to be kind to us and to have fun
-We need faith to believe in ourselves
-Kindness is just about being nice and we should all be nice
-Love gives us hugs and kisses, and who doesn’t love hugs and kisses?

I underestimate this child–the one who is always obsessed with nail polish, hair styles, dresses and sparkly shoes. I asked her where she learned that. She smiled and pointed to her chest, and said, “It’s just inside me.”

Her brother follows up and says smartly, “She’s wrong. That’s not all we need in life. We also need books.”

Aside from the fact that the Boy is a Smart-Ass, it warms my heart that they’ve somehow internalized values that I deem important. I hope they continue to hold these values in their hearts as they grow, and to use them as guides as they prioritize goals and navigate through life. I don’t know how their lives will unfold, but I know if they hold these beliefs firmly in their hearts, everything will turn out more than fine.

And this has really reinforced the notion that only good comes of shopping.