Ever have one of those moments when you made a snap decision that had some hefty negative consequences? Like taking a left when your spouse suggested that you turn right and, as a result, you show up to the wedding 15 minutes late. You know, just as an example. I'm sure I've never done such a thing.
One such event has come to my mind several times recently. It was a teaching moment for me and my son Brandon.
The event took place about 2 years ago when our family was on a camping vacation just outside of Estes Park, Co. During that trip the family picked a day to visit Grand Lake, CO. I started early that day to ride my bike over Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake to meet them there. After meeting up with the rest of the family (my parents, my in-laws, my brother-in-law and his daughter, and my sisters and their families) we had some lunch and started walking around town to do some shopping.
My dad and I decided to split up from the rest of the group, and my son Brandon came with us. Brandon is an "Active" child and you never know which way he is going to go. So walking around shops with small "breakable" souvenirs can be a bit stressful with Brandon. One of the shops we visited was a maze of glass and small trinkets. Very small, and very breakable. So just before entering the store I stopped Brandon to lay some ground rules (pretty much, "DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING").
As we enter the door, we are probably only 3-5 feet inside the store when Brandon reaches out to point at something he thinks looks cool. This is when things go into slow motion. I KNOW what is about to happen. I reach towards his hand to stop him, but as I grab his arm, he is already touching the small trinket in question. My enthusiasm to stop him results in me bumping his arm. As a result, his hand hits the trinket and it tips over slowly, ever so slowly, and as it comes to a rest on it's side it is now TWO small trinkets. It is all too obvious that it was not DESIGNED to be two small trinkets.
CRAP! Now what do I do. My first instinct is to look at the price tag on this newly "redesigned" trinket. $49.99, you've got to be kidding me (Probably only $4.99 but my brain remembers $49.99 and that makes for a better excuse for what happens next).
So there we are. Three generations of the "B" family (my dad was standing there too) trying to decide what to do next. My dad offers up "What kind of shop keeper puts something that breakable so close to the shop entrance? I think we should just leave.". That's when I notice that nobody else noticed what had just happened. We could leave quickly and not have to pay for this broken trinket. Keep in mind that I greatly respect my dad. He has been a huge roll model in my life and I continue to aspire to be more like him. But to be honest, I don't think this was the most helpful advice.
So what did I do. There I was with my dad and my son. This was a perfect chance to teach my son about responsibility and honesty. All we had to do was point out the incident to the shop keeper and submit to whatever penalty they thought was appropriate. But what would we do?
We got the heck out of Dodge. We made a quick exit from the shop, and never looked back. Or did we? That was almost 2 years ago, and yet I've probably thought of it a couple dozen times since then. I taught my son a lesson that day, and that lesson was, "if you don't get caught, then you don't have to suffer the consequences". Way to go Bob. Anyone want to submit my name for the "Dad of the Year" award.
But why should I mention this to you my dear reader. Because it's a lesson that I have learned the hard way, and I though maybe my example would help you avoid the same mistake in your life. Be careful of those snap decisions. Sometimes they can haunt you. Take a few extra seconds to think about what the RIGHT decision is, then do it, even if it stings a little. You never know who is watching and learning from your decisions.
4 comments:
Nothing like a public confession. Well written, Bob. Is it too late to follow up with this note and payment to the shop?
Thanks.
I thought about that, but I have no idea how to figure out which one of the 100 shops in that small town was the one I fled from. Probably the one that went bankrupt because of damaged merchandise losses. ;-)
I read this to Brandon. He informs me that it was a statue of a moose. He also pointed out that he was just showing the statue and that I did bump his arm when he was trying to point it out to me.
He liked the article, but I think the sarcasm was a bit lost on my 6yo son.
Yeah, 5 or 6 year olds do remember those incidents. I remember "stealing" a piece of candy from a grocery store at the suggestion of a police officer's son. This was also when I was about 5 years old. I knew it was wrong, but my reasoning was, "the candy has no sticker of price, it's a hard candy sitting within a box of bubble gums, there's no other hard candies like it around this isle, so it doesn't belong to anyone, so it's ok to take it."
It was still wrong, and I still remember it. If I ever go back to the small town of Windsor where I grew up, I'll pay back Safeway the 10 cents it cost back in 1983. I guess with inflation, that would probably be more like a buck now, huh?
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