The Confession

The first time she came down the stairs, she said she heard a noise and was scared, so she couldn't go to sleep. BigDaddyFish and I listened intently, checked for likely culprits and, finding none, sent her back to her bed. She proceeded to kiss and hug us at least 8 more times before heading back to bed, but she got there eventually.

Not five minutes later she was back, this time in tears.

"Mom, Dad, I took Sasha's* pencil grip without asking and she's going to be so mad at me and that's why I can't sleep!" she wailed.

BDF and I looked at each other with wan "Aha!" smiles as we gathered her into our arms. We told her how proud we were that she admitted to us that she had done something wrong, and then we asked her what she wanted to do to make things right. She asked if I could get her up extra early the next day so she could put the pencil grip back in Sasha's pencil box before Sasha arrived at school for the day. I reminded her that she rides the bus and she needed to take the bus with her siblings, and I said that I thought the best policy would simply be to return the pencil grip, apologize, and wait for it to blow over. She wasn't keen on that idea. I also told her she could ask her teacher for help, as she trusts and adores her teacher (who both Trout and Little Man had for Kindergarten), and she agreed that might work. We gave her lots of hugs and love and encouragement, and a lot of praise for admitting things to us, and talked about how it doesn't feel good when we do things that are wrong and take things that don't belong to us, gave her some more hugs, and sent her back to bed. I think she learned that lesson wholly. She's been sharing and asking to share things a lot more in the week(ish) that has passed since this happened.

As it turned out, she and Little Man missed their bus the next day and I ended up driving them, and she arrived before Sasha did, so she just put the pencil grip back in her friend's pencil box and her friendship is still intact. But I'm not sure I was brave enough at just-turned-six to have admitted anything that I thought would get me in a whole lot of trouble to anyone, much less my parents. She's a good un, that kid.

*Sasha's name is an alias, because she's, as Uncle Dave says, "In the witness protection program."

Comments

[Carol Anderson]

She is a "good un" that girl. A heart of gold to go with the beautiful outside. Oh, and btw, you're pretty good parents!!!

[FishyGirl]

*blush* thank you so much. We try hard - shes number three so I hope weve learned a thing or two by now. This was an easy thing. Its so much harder when they think nothing of taking other peoples stuff without asking.