We have all had to suffer consequences. Being a parent of two teenagers, I want them to learn life lessons that will stick and possibly help make them better people. Unfortunately, this means that I will have to step aside and (gasp) let them suffer for their mistakes. Now Taylor is a pretty responsible young lady. I don't have to worry much about her activities because she stays on top of things and lets me know what is going on. Kyle on the other hand, occupies his own private planet that I only sometimes am invited to. Usually when he makes a mistake, it is someone else's fault or some cosmic force working against him, not anything that he has done. This morning when we arrived at the school at 6:30, like we do most mornings for cheer practice, he let out a big sigh and said, "Could you get me a shirt and tie together and bring it up here, we are supposed to dress nice on game days". How many times has this happened, "Mom, I need you to sign my permission slip" while sitting in the parking lot, "Mom, I have a project due TOMORROW", "Mom, there is a bake sale today and I have to bring cookies!" So, this morning, after he announced this I decided that I wasn't going to bale him out this time. To which I got a loud "FINE" and a car door slammed. He will live through the humiliation of being the only one on the team who is in jeans and a t-shirt. I hope that he gets reprimanded by the coach is some way as well and perhaps next time, he will think ahead and let me know these things at an appropriate time. A few years ago, before he got this recent surge of horrid testosterone, he had to sing at a Christmas program but didn't let me know until the day of that he needed a white shirt. Well, guess what, we didn't have a white shirt and he was the only kid in a sea of white-shirted kids with a brazen red shirt on. It was precious to me then. I wasn't embarrassed, I just remember thinking that I would always remember that. This is hard, this mother thing. I guess if I get out of it with a few shouts of disapproval and a few doors slammed in my face, I'm doing ok. Doing the right thing isn't always easy but I'm sure in the end, it will pay off.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
consequences
We have all had to suffer consequences. Being a parent of two teenagers, I want them to learn life lessons that will stick and possibly help make them better people. Unfortunately, this means that I will have to step aside and (gasp) let them suffer for their mistakes. Now Taylor is a pretty responsible young lady. I don't have to worry much about her activities because she stays on top of things and lets me know what is going on. Kyle on the other hand, occupies his own private planet that I only sometimes am invited to. Usually when he makes a mistake, it is someone else's fault or some cosmic force working against him, not anything that he has done. This morning when we arrived at the school at 6:30, like we do most mornings for cheer practice, he let out a big sigh and said, "Could you get me a shirt and tie together and bring it up here, we are supposed to dress nice on game days". How many times has this happened, "Mom, I need you to sign my permission slip" while sitting in the parking lot, "Mom, I have a project due TOMORROW", "Mom, there is a bake sale today and I have to bring cookies!" So, this morning, after he announced this I decided that I wasn't going to bale him out this time. To which I got a loud "FINE" and a car door slammed. He will live through the humiliation of being the only one on the team who is in jeans and a t-shirt. I hope that he gets reprimanded by the coach is some way as well and perhaps next time, he will think ahead and let me know these things at an appropriate time. A few years ago, before he got this recent surge of horrid testosterone, he had to sing at a Christmas program but didn't let me know until the day of that he needed a white shirt. Well, guess what, we didn't have a white shirt and he was the only kid in a sea of white-shirted kids with a brazen red shirt on. It was precious to me then. I wasn't embarrassed, I just remember thinking that I would always remember that. This is hard, this mother thing. I guess if I get out of it with a few shouts of disapproval and a few doors slammed in my face, I'm doing ok. Doing the right thing isn't always easy but I'm sure in the end, it will pay off.
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