James has had a few very difficult days lately. They all culminated with a
series of unfortunate events that had him in solitary confinement (aka his
bedroom) for the day. Not only did he have to spend the day in his room, but he
had every single item he possesses taken away AND he had to write sentences
about never behaving that way again. In order to earn the right to go outside
again he had to write 2 pages of "I will never hurt Jack again". He is now in
the process of having to work to get his things back. Now, this may sound like a
harsh punishment for a 6 year old, but trust me when I tell you that the pain of
having to earn back your toys is nothing compared to the pain he inflicted on
his brother.
I swear there is nothing on the planet that makes me as angry as when one
of my kids hurts another one.
While James was in said solitary confinement, he kept calling out of his room that he was hungry (it was 9 am and we ate breakfast at 8 am). I didn't have a lot of sympathy nor patience at this point, so I told him to wait until lunch. I was folding clothes in the living room and noticed Jack running back and forth from the kitchen down the hall with a little backpack on wheels. I finally asked him what he was doing and he said "I am bringing food to my bawa because he is hungry". I asked him what he had in the backpack and he said "I am bringing bawa a cheese strip so he can keep writing so we can go play."
I was shocked and amazed at his ability to be compassionate after the
events that occurred earlier. It made me realize that the things that are most
important to me - love, respect, kindness, caring - must be in them somewhere
and maybe there is hope for us after all....smile
