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| No dessert devastates Westley |
Life is rough and then you die, right?
But when you’re a mom, you really don’t like the idea of
your little one being hurt, heartbroken or devastated. We say, “Sometimes
they have to learn the hard way.” But if we’re honest with ourselves, another
cliché is also true when it comes to painful moments for our kids. “This is
going to hurt me more than it hurts you.”
I felt that way just this week. Jack and Reese were
attending camp at a local recreation center. After a couple days, Jack insisted
on taking his Nintendo DS with him.
“No,” I said.
“Please, Mom? Everyone is bringing theirs,” pleaded Jack.
I went on to explain to him that it WILL come up missing. That’s the case at any camp-like function
where there are a lot of kids and few adults. I also told him that when it
does, he would take his case before Santa (aka-Granny) because I was not going
to buy him another one.
Right on cue as I was picking them up, Jack appeared before
me with red eyes and slumped shoulders. Since the cat had Jack’s tongue, his
always-verbal sidekick, Reese, took over elaborating on the day’s horrific
events.
“Someone stole Jack’s DS!!!” she proclaimed
“You don’t say,” I side-eyed Jack.
“Yes,” she continued, “but we know who did it. His name is…”
“I don’t care what his name is.” I turned to Jack, “Son,
didn’t I tell you this was going to happen? I’m not going out of my way to fix
this, because I warned you.”
I continued to scold, and he continued to cry. Finally, he
yelled,
“But he’s not being honest. Why is he not being honest and
stealing other people’s stuff.”
Right then it dawned on me. This was more than just an
incident of stealing. It was innocence lost.
I know what you’re
thinking. What’s the big deal? You told
him not to take the D-S, he did and he lost it. But the days that followed
painted the picture. The recreation center took the kids to the movies. Jack
was super-anxious about his money being stolen. He and Reese took some snacks
one day. As soon as we got there, he asked the counselor if she could lock them
up in her office. Now, I’m all for a
healthy dose of common sense and awareness, but I don’t want the child to think
he is going to get robbed every time he leaves the house. He and his siblings had already been bowled over by the fact that their parents weren't perfect by living through a divorce. I don’t want all of the fun
to be taken out of his life just yet. That will come soon enough. And to see the
child-like trust in him dissipate a bit more, was…well, sad!
I know that eventually he needs to learn that not everyone
needs to be trusted and to take the necessary precautions to be safe, but I was
hoping I could shield him a little bit longer.
There was a happy ending though. The culprit returned Jack’s DS, and all is
well. But it won’t ever be the same.
