As you read down this post you will find a long gap. Before you scroll further to read my memory for this Monday I would like you to search into your own. Do you have children? If not, consider a memory from your own past that fits into this scenario...
Think about an occasion - maybe long ago - when your child (or you) was very naughty.....
You don't have to make any admissions here, these thoughts are private, just bring something to mind before you read on.
Here begins the gap.
And here it ends....
In the following narrative the names have been changed to protect the innocent! The story, however, is true.
Several years ago we lived in a small community. Our children were very small, in fact our youngest was barely walking. There were few local playmates, but there was one little boy who lived across the road. We will call him John. He led a very protected and sheltered life, and it was unusual for him to be allowed to play with other children, however, our daughter had obviously passed whatever test was set, and she was often invited over to play by his mother whom we will call Susan.
One morning, after only about half an hour there was a knock on the door. Susan was standing at the door holding our DD's hand, and clutching John firmly to her bosom. I could see that something was wrong, but couldn't imagine what it could be. The story unfolded....
DD had found a pair of scissors and had cut John's hair. She had never done anything like it before, and has not done anything like it since. To be honest, as I looked, I couldn't see anything wrong with the hair, but I was appalled that she had done such a thing. She was suitably chastised, and I presumed that the relationship with the family had been severed for ever. Certainly relationships were cool for the rest of the month. One morning, however, at coffee time the doorbell rang. Susan was standing on the step, John firmly in tow. I invited them in. DD was delighted to see him, and before long they were playing happily together.
On the afternoon of the incident Susan had taken John to a child's birthday party. All the mothers had oohed and aahed over the haircut and requested the name and address of the barber! Family members had also expressed delight at how good his hair looked when they attended a wedding the next day, in fact, although she had never admitted that it had been cut by a four year old, the general concensus was that John had never looked so smart or like a boy. We ended up laughing about the whole incident, and we still chuckle over it to this day.
The moral? Well, all children are naughty, and maybe your child has just done something you would rather forget. However, I'm fairly certain that sometime in the future you too will be able to regard it with a certain amount of amusement, without condoning the action either at the time or now. Memory is a wonderful thing....
