Good Choice, Bad Choice

Part of growing up is learning to make choices.  Even as adults we make good ones AND bad ones.  Even as adults we can learn from our mistakes.  To be an adult it to admit when we've made a bad choice and CONSCIOUSLY decide to do better next time.

This weekend, my ten year old made some good choices and some bad ones.  On Sunday, I reminded him that we would be participating in the "Souper Bowl" at church.(https://souperbowl.org/).  Of his own volition, he decided to take some of his savings and donate it.  The suggested donation is a $1, so I was surprised when he pulled out $5.  I asked him if he had a dollar bill, and that he only needed to donate that much.  He did and again to my surprise he decided he wanted to donate both; giving a total of $6.  It was  good decision.  Such a good decision on his part that I decided I needed to "match" his donation and put $6 of my own into the donation "pot".  His good decision helped me make a good one.

Of course my son is just ten and so sometimes he makes not so good decisions.  Yesterday afternoon he wanted to go outside and play.  My good decision was to have him change into his snow pants before heading out the door.  (A decision he might not have made on his own...although one he IS learning as the winter goes on).  Later I saw him and a friend racing down the snowy hill on their "sleds" (OK, they were not officially "sleds" but whatever they were;  tubes, pieces of plastic, whatever).  They were having a great time, but they came to a sudden halt a little more than half way down as the snow had melted.  I laughed and went back to whatever I was doing.

I wasn't laughing later when I looked out the back window and saw his black and white coat COVERED in mud.  At that point, I had to make a decision.  I could yell out the back door and have him come in, or I could just let it go.  He would come in soon enough and I could deal with the situation then.

I'm not a big believer in putting things off, but this time I decided to.  Sure enough he came to the front door an hour or so later.  He just stood there.  His coat was muddy.  His snow pants were muddy.  His boots were muddy.  He wanted a hot shower.  (Can you blame him?)  I asked him what he had done and if it had been a good decision to go playing in "the swamp."  He agreed it wasn't the best decision, but it HAD been fun.  (And in all honesty, aren't kids supposed to have fun?)

I had a choice.  I could have blown as gasket (as I am wont to do) or I could remain calm and tackle the task at hand.  I had made enough bad choices over the weekend.   (I admit that I blew my fuse more than once Saturday and Sunday.  Not the best choice; perhaps I was learning?)  Instead I had him sit outside on the front stoop and take off his boots and coat.  The boots were handed off to his father (to be hosed off outside).  The coat was handed to me.  The snow pants came off just inside the front door.  Then we all marched down to the basement where the washing machine resides.  I had the kid strip the rest of the way and then had him go upstairs to take a shower, while I kept my fingers crossed with the washing machine.  (Spoiler:  It took two goes before most of the dirt came off and two goes on the "low  heat" option of the dryer until everything was "mostly" dry)  So while my son may not have made the wisest choice, I DID make a good choice in how I reacted to it all.  (And maybe he will think twice before playing in the mud.  Then again, he is a kid and the siren son of dirt and mud can be pretty strong.)

Every day we ALL make choices.  Sometimes we are wise and sometimes we are not.  The best we can do is acknowledge when we make not so wise decisions and learn from them.  Doesn't matter if we're 10, 20, 30, 40...learning from our choices is what makes us mature and responsible human beings.