Maculeuse St. Amie, left, thanks siblings Tori and Colin Wheat for their donation of Colin’s old bicycle, which will go to St. Amie’s grandson. Photo provided
By Emily J. Minor
It’s nice being a grandma, especially this time of year. And it’s especially nice when your grandson is sweet and kind, like Colin Wheat, who is all of age 5.
“I was just so moved by it,” says Peggy Martin, aka “Gammy,” who lives in Delray Beach. “It was so sweet.”
Rewind, if you will, to the beginning of December when Colin, who has a big sister, Tori, 7, was about to celebrate his birthday. Doting grandparents Martin and her husband, Joe, got their grandson a new bike, even though the old one was practically as good as new.
“He walked in and he saw it and he said, ‘Oh, is that mine?’” she remembers.
And indeed it was, new horn and all.
But it wasn’t too long until Colin had an idea, and it was an idea prompted by the life lessons he’s already been taught. “They have been introduced to the volunteer aspects of life,” says Martin, who is heavily involved with a charity called Women’s Circle, which trains illiterate and unskilled women so they’re self-sufficient. “It’s also very much instilled in them by their parents.”
The old bike, it was decided by a certain birthday boy, should be given to someone who might otherwise be without.
Gammy knew just the place: Women’s Circle.
So she packed up the grandkids and she headed over to the offices in Boynton Beach, at which time one of those lovely Reader Digest conversations ensued.
In the car, Colin was chatting with his sister — and he said: “Are they going to give me something?”
Martin, who was driving, was silent for a moment, and it was a good thing. Because big sister Tori did not miss a beat.
“She said, ‘Yes, Colin. They’re going to give you something. They’re going to give you happiness.’ ”
And Gammy just about cried. (Well, actually, maybe she did, just a little.)
And so there they were. The little boy wasn’t there, but his caretaker was. And Maculeuse St. Amie thanked Colin and thanked his sister and thanked Gammy.
Colin was shy from all the attention, but Tori stepped up to the plate, chatting up a storm. Tori and Colin are the children of Christina and Troy Wheat, also of Delray Beach. Christina is Peggy and Joe’s daughter, and she teaches at Gulf Stream School, which the children attend.
And on the way home, the bike now headed to a young, unsuspecting owner, Colin was quiet. So Gammy stormed in.
“I told him how wonderful he was and how giving he was and how his heart has to be very happy because he made someone else happy,” she said.
Happy, indeed. A sweet little stranger, two loving parents, and a very special woman named Gammy.
For information about the Women’s Circle, call 244-7627, or visit womenscircle.org. The organization is a 501(c) charity.
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