Monday, June 11, 2012

Understanding Our Faults

"I did something I shouldn't have done today, Dad," my boy told me as he clambered into the car after his first day back at school following the half term holiday.


"What did you do?" I quizzed?


"I talked back to my teacher. I'm sorry."


My boy is bright. Very bright. And he's cheeky in an endearing way most of the time. But when he's adamant that he's right there's no changing his mind and he has an occasional tendency to give a little too much cheek to his elders.


He told me the tale. It was a very minor talk back but his teacher rightly told him that very rude and inappropriate and it left him feeling bad.


"Did you apologise?"


"Straight away. And again at the end of the day. But I want to buy her a box of chocolates and I want to write a sorry card tonight."


And that's exactly what he did tonight. Tomorrow he'll take them in and apologise again. He'll probably lose sleep over it tonight because he's a worrier. But I think it's good for him to feel bad about it!


I'm proud of him.


Not for talking back, of course, but because he was able to acknowledge he was wrong about something and swallow his pride sufficiently to apologise and put it right.


That's something that hasn't always been a strength of mine - admitting my flaws and mistakes. And there are many.



  • I'm too stubborn
  • I wallow
  • I push people away
  • In the past, I've taken love and loyalty and failed to give enough back
  • I've been guilty of negativity
  • I've taken people for granted
  • Even today, I have a childish tendency to sulk when I don't get my way (despite now how having two children of my own)!
I'm not about to start writing 'sorry' cards ;-) but I am getting better at admitting faults.

My young son, though, learnt all about that a lot quicker than I did.

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