Last month Marian set this note on my bedside table. She and Michael hadn’t been getting along lately and I had been expressing my distaste for this. It was a weekend morning so I had been laying in bed, not sleeping, because that apparently is something I’m not capable of. However, I’m very capable of being lazy and that’s precisely what I was doing. I rolled over, saw her note and read it. Then I burst out laughing. It struck me as so cute and so funny. The typos were one of my favorite parts. She clearly let the computer autocorrect some of the words for her which adds to the fun of the note.
Marian really does love her little brother. Yesterday was Sunday so we went to mass and the kids went to their religious education classes. Later in the afternoon he was going to go to his friend’s house. Michael had recently changed kindergarten classes so he and this friend weren’t in the same class anymore and they missed each other. When we got Michael from his religious education class the teacher said he hadn’t behaved and was disruptive. Our obvious punishment would have been to cancel the playdate, however that would have punished his friend just as much. We told him he would still go to play and that we would decide on a punishment later that day.
That night Mike had a hockey game at 7:15pm. Both of the kids LOVE going to his games because it’s a special treat. Most of his games are too late so it’s always exciting if he has one before their bedtime. Mike and I decided that Marian would get to go to her dad’s game and that Michael would not. We all knew that Michael would be devastated when he heard but he needed to learn a hard lesson. Marian cornered me in the kitchen with this plan:
Marian: Can you just tell Michael that when dad and I leave we are just going to run errands? Then, once we’re in the car you can tell him the truth.
Me: Why do you want me to do it that way?
Marian: Because I don’t want to see him cry.
She felt bad for him. Awww. That’s love. What’s even more loving is that as she was walking out the door with Mike she was crying too, because she felt bad for her brother. So even though they do fight, they are brother and “sitter” and they try to love “another”!
FYI, we weren’t being too harsh on the boy. He’s a hand-full and we’re working hard at home to teach him what is expected of him at home, at school, at church and with his sports teams. Taking away the wii or the TV can only do so much. This was probably the hardest punishment we’ve doled out to him and we can only hope that he’ll learn from it.