The Apology
Today started off a bit rough but ended with ice cream and a child that put herself to bed, so I'm calling it a win.
I slept in.
Apparently if you want to get up early and make some money you have to get up to an alarm clocks. Guess who forgot the alarm?
BW thinks I did it on purpose, but it almost all worked out in the end. First, if I was not home she would not have woke to coffee delivered in bed and bacon sandwiches for breakfast (she had to come downstairs for the bacon)
The topic of discussion was that the child thought she should run away and so we offered her alternatives like living at a friend’s house or Abuela’s but she realized she’s got it pretty good here even if she is currently under house arrest.
All was going as planned, until I started to leave the house. The child did not like this at all and there were tears and screaming and clinging to my leg. I fibbed and told her I had a doctor’s appointment but in reality, the school bus was still 45 minutes out and it was prime time for uber-ing. So. I left.
When she got home from school later today we had a talk about how she’s big and this isn’t how it all goes down. I cannot be around all the time.
Because she’s still in the doghouse she found some molding clay and some watercolor paints and went to town while I made dinner.
After dinner we have a new deal: Homework happens before dessert.
I asked her if she had homework tonight and she told me that yes, she does.
“They work us hard over there”, she told me.
But after homework there was just one more thing we had to do.
We had to write an apology letter for Carson’s Mom for our behavior on Monday night and then walk over and hand deliver it.
Insert stalling and feet dragging here.
She wanted to just write “I’m sorry” and that’s it, but BW made her flesh it out a bit more and the final note read:
“Dear Carson’s Mom.
I am sorry I misbehaved at your house. “
And then she wrote her name and BW marched her the two blocks to Carson’s house.
I did not go, but there was some stalling and feet dragging and when they got there, they knocked on the door - Dad answered - and she handed him the card and ran away.
I guess that’s good enough, right? We said she had to write a letter and deliver it personally. Nobody said she had to stick around and chat.
And that ends our week of no fun. We took a day off for being brave enough for actually delivering. It’s hard to apologize.
When I was putting her to bed she asked me why it is so hard to apologize and I said because it’s admitting you were wrong and nobody wants to make mistakes and be wrong. At least her little mind is thinking about behaving and the right thing to do.
But, but! I told her that if you apologize that almost anybody will accept your apology and then you can be friends again and all is forgiven.
Unless you’re Carson: He’s still got 2 more days of his sentence to complete.
Until Next Time,
TH and Co.