A Lesson in Responsibility
I forgot to tell you all about a little incident that happened the day before we left.
Heather and I were taking the boys and dogs on our daily walk. Everything was going as normal. Dogs were sniffing around, strollers were rolling along with captivated babies in tow, Noah was running in circles in the grass near us. Noah had gotten a bit too far and a car was coming so I had him stop and wait. He decided it would be a great idea to pick up a rock and throw it into the road. Of course this was exactly as the car was driving past... a customized orange Charger with chrome accents and nice rims. The rock hit the pavement and bounced perfectly, smacking into the expensive rims. SH**!!! (I didn't say the full word) NOAH MICHAEL! GET OVER HERE!! I was not patient with him at all. He got spanked right there because he KNOWS better. I can't tell you how many times I've told this child not to throw rocks at people, animals, objects... or even at all.
The car slowed down a few feet ahead, but then picked up her speed again up to the stop sign at the end of the road. I just kept watching the brake lights, imagining myself getting yelled at with every flash... probably turning just as red in the face. I could see our insurance deductible... but wait... what insurance would even cover this?! NONE! I was nervous, angry, a little nauseated. Stop sign... she's stopped... well it's a stop sign. The lady gets out of her car and walks around to inspect where the rock hit. She looked for quite some time. We just kept walking towards her so that she knew I wasn't trying to "run away". We normally turned into the woods right where Noah had his moment of idiocy. She ended up climbing back into the car and driving off. I guess the damage wasn't bad, or maybe none at all. I watched her pull into the housing area and park. Must be home.
Heather and I walked around for awhile, discussing the situation. Well if there had been any damage she knew we were there so everything is probably fine. She didn't stop, that's her decision. Despite the prospect of dealing with someone angry or having to drop hundreds of dollars on a new rim... we decided to find her house. Noah needs to understand what he did was VERY wrong and apologize to her. Too bad our politicians never had this lesson, huh ;)
We found the car. It's pretty easy to find an orange Charger all chromed out with nice rims. I had been telling Noah on the walk over that he needed to tell the lady he was sorry for throwing a rock at her car. He needed to say it loudly and not laugh or smile... it's NOT funny. He slowly realized the severity of his actions and was ready to apologize when we got to the door. We knocked and there she was. I asked if she had just driven the charger down the road, "yes that was me", well my son wants to tell you something. "I sorry I throw rock at your car". The lady was so sweet. She held his hand and told him it was ok and asked "can we still be friends?". I was quite pleased and relieved. I made sure everything was OK with her car, which it was, and we headed for home.
I was quite proud of my son. He didn't shy away at the last second. He stood up straight at the door, lifted his head, and loudly and clearly apologized to a complete stranger for what he'd done. It was a good life lesson... for both of us.
Heather and I were taking the boys and dogs on our daily walk. Everything was going as normal. Dogs were sniffing around, strollers were rolling along with captivated babies in tow, Noah was running in circles in the grass near us. Noah had gotten a bit too far and a car was coming so I had him stop and wait. He decided it would be a great idea to pick up a rock and throw it into the road. Of course this was exactly as the car was driving past... a customized orange Charger with chrome accents and nice rims. The rock hit the pavement and bounced perfectly, smacking into the expensive rims. SH**!!! (I didn't say the full word) NOAH MICHAEL! GET OVER HERE!! I was not patient with him at all. He got spanked right there because he KNOWS better. I can't tell you how many times I've told this child not to throw rocks at people, animals, objects... or even at all.
The car slowed down a few feet ahead, but then picked up her speed again up to the stop sign at the end of the road. I just kept watching the brake lights, imagining myself getting yelled at with every flash... probably turning just as red in the face. I could see our insurance deductible... but wait... what insurance would even cover this?! NONE! I was nervous, angry, a little nauseated. Stop sign... she's stopped... well it's a stop sign. The lady gets out of her car and walks around to inspect where the rock hit. She looked for quite some time. We just kept walking towards her so that she knew I wasn't trying to "run away". We normally turned into the woods right where Noah had his moment of idiocy. She ended up climbing back into the car and driving off. I guess the damage wasn't bad, or maybe none at all. I watched her pull into the housing area and park. Must be home.
Heather and I walked around for awhile, discussing the situation. Well if there had been any damage she knew we were there so everything is probably fine. She didn't stop, that's her decision. Despite the prospect of dealing with someone angry or having to drop hundreds of dollars on a new rim... we decided to find her house. Noah needs to understand what he did was VERY wrong and apologize to her. Too bad our politicians never had this lesson, huh ;)
We found the car. It's pretty easy to find an orange Charger all chromed out with nice rims. I had been telling Noah on the walk over that he needed to tell the lady he was sorry for throwing a rock at her car. He needed to say it loudly and not laugh or smile... it's NOT funny. He slowly realized the severity of his actions and was ready to apologize when we got to the door. We knocked and there she was. I asked if she had just driven the charger down the road, "yes that was me", well my son wants to tell you something. "I sorry I throw rock at your car". The lady was so sweet. She held his hand and told him it was ok and asked "can we still be friends?". I was quite pleased and relieved. I made sure everything was OK with her car, which it was, and we headed for home.
I was quite proud of my son. He didn't shy away at the last second. He stood up straight at the door, lifted his head, and loudly and clearly apologized to a complete stranger for what he'd done. It was a good life lesson... for both of us.
Comments
This happened to us at the splash park. A boy threw a rock at Ember though & nearly hit her hear with it but missed by a hair. a few minutes later the mother came over and did the same that you did & the little boy apologized and I told thank yo for saying sorry. I though t it was good for her to teach him to be more careful & was not at all angry with the boy.