My son is generous.

When he eats something he finds particularly scrumptious, he immediately demands we all take a bite.

When he sees something beautiful, like the color of the sky during a North Carolina sunrise, he summons us all to the window so we can see it, too.

When he gets a new toy that is So Much Fun, he begs and begs to either take it to school or outside to the neighbors so they can also play.

The kid can share.

So what’s the problem? Well, the problem is, while he has this generous spirit, he is too young to be on the lookout for the takers. You know the takers. The ones who take a piece of his hard earned Correct Answer Candy every day on the bus, but who don’t offer to share any of their own. The ones who beg him to bring out his Moon Sand, but don’t stick around to help clean up the mess before dinner. The ones who watch him get out of the car with a brand new pack of Bubble Yum proudly clutched in his hand, bought with his own allowance, and swarm around him, asking for a piece. Then, after they all get one and they start to chomp, they hand my boy their empty wrappers and pedal back off on their bikes without him.

Those takers.

For three days straight this week, I had to talk to my boy about why he couldn’t take his brand new remote controlled car (that rides up the walls and on the ceiling) in his backpack to school with him. He apparently told one of his Bus Buddies (who is in the third grade, and who is a daily recipient of the aforementioned candy) about his cool new car, and now feels obligated to let this friend ‘borrow’ the car simply because the kid asked.

This is not the first time I have had to coach him not to share.

And it’s not just that I’m worried about his stuff. Seriously, I am GLAD that he is willing to share his candy, and there’s nothing more enjoyable than watching him pull out game after game or car after car when he has one of his buddies over to play. He feels things intensely; he can go from joy to despair in an instant. And one of the things that brings the joy: sharing something he loves with someone who appreciates it with him.

No, I’m not worried about the toys. But I am worried about his heart. Because, in the blink of an eye, it will no longer be bubble gum that he will be giving, or that people will be after. In the blink of an eye, the things he gives away will not be tangible. Or replaceable. Or appreciated by others the way they are appreciated by him.

One day, he’ll have to begin to figure out when to share and when to hold back. How do you teach a six year old about that? Is there a way to prepare a child for the day his generosity will not be reciprocated? Probably by someone he loves? And probably after he had every reason to believe that it would?

It’s the part of motherhood that is the hardest for me, those moments that chip away the simple, innocent, purity that exists in a kid’s trust. A kid who doesn’t yet realize there is a pain different than a skinned knee or brain freeze. A kid who doesn’t yet realize that people will disappoint him, will say one thing but do another, or will take from him but only give back when it’s easy.

Hopefully I won’t be the person that does that to him. I hope that he will see me as the person that always came through, who never felt burdened to share myself, or my time, or my toys or my gum, with beautiful, generous him.