A few weeks back I made a deal with my seven-year-old son. In exchange for heading home early from our July 4th festivities, he could have $2 to play the infamous “claw” game in the hotel game room. I’m sure you’ve seen these. It’s a machine where the objective is to use a joystick to maneuver the metal claw in order to try and pick up a prize.

I have tried hopelessly over the years to convey to my kids that this game is rigged, but it was a small price to pay to beat the holiday traffic.

Zach tried unsuccessfully four times to pick up a Celtics ball before depleting his funds. Standing nearby, however was a boy (around 10) who had cracked the “code” and had a collection of items that he had grabbed from the claw machine.

I reminded Zach of the deal we made and we began to leave. As we walked out, this boy came over and handed Zach the Celtics ball. He had seen him struggle for it and used his own money to grab it for him.

I’ll never forget the look on Zach’s face as he thanked the boy profusely. Then, when we tried to repay the boy the $0.50 he had spent, he reluctantly took it but then promptly gave it to another child as we walked away.

When we got into the car, Zach blurted out, “Oh my g-d, I can’t believe how nice that boy was!”

It was an amazing moment to see the impact that an act of kindness has through the eyes of a child. Rachel and I took the opportunity to tell him that he should remember how that made him feel and try to do the same for others.

In our busy lives, sometimes it’s the smallest acts that can make a huge difference. For Zach, an act that cost $0.50 cents made his day — and hopefully taught him a lifelong lesson about being kind and generous to others. My only regret was that I wasn’t able to find the boy’s parents and compliment them on the values they had imparted to him.

Have a great weekend!