NEW DAY NEW LESSON

We all know when we have said or done something we should be sorry about. Maybe we don’t always realize it right away, but at some point we do feel and know it.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I know that often I don’t say sorry as quickly as I should. Maybe it’s because sometimes I don’t realize right away that I was out of line. Maybe sometimes I am a bit stubborn. (Nah, not me.) And maybe sometimes it is because I am not used to the fact that the best way to say sorry is to do it immediately.

You are wrong. You said or did something wrong. You realized it. So why wait to apologize? Or why refuse to say you’re sorry?

I believe we all need to clear misunderstandings up and say sorry right away.

This past week I wasn’t aware of having had to say I am sorry. (Aside from the I’m sorry you are not feeling well variety.) But I did have lessons from two of my kids that showed me that maybe they have learned the lessons.

My second son and I had an argument. While I was out shopping, my older daughter needed some help with something computer related that could not wait for me and after much debating, I asked my son to help her. Why did I debate about asking him? Because when those two kids are in a room together with no one else, the whole world implodes. Within two minutes there are tears and yelling and impatience.

If it could have waited I would not have asked my son to help. I spoke to him, explained to him why he had to help and what she needed and told him thank you. Yes, you guessed it. Two minutes later I got a phone calls punctuated by crying and screaming from my daughter. My blood pressure is rising just recalling the next few minutes of trying to reason with a hot headed 18 year old, so I won’t get into it.

What I will say is that he was so wrong and so owed me an apology.

To his credit, as I walked in the door carrying the grocery bags, he right away sheepishly apologized to me and said I am sorry. He apologized for his behavior. To tell the truth I was quite surprised. He is quite stubborn and has the family “I am never wrong” gene. You know the gene I am talking about. The “I may not always be right but I am never wrong gene” that he inherited from his father’s side of the family.

I was glad to see though that he has finally understood the value of saying an immediate I am sorry instead of dragging his feet.

The other sorry incident was when my little girl by mistake hit me gently with a book while she was sitting next to me on the couch. She saw she had hurt me and with no prompting whatsoever she said sorry and then made nice to me and asked me if I was okay. I was so happy to see that even at the tender age of not yet 4 years old, she has learned to say I am sorry.

So how did you guys all do with this week’s Kindness Club Week 4 prompt of learning to say I am sorry and saying it immediately?

Go on and write a post about your please and thank you experiences and then link up your post below. (Don’t forget to use the URL from your post not your site). The link will be open for a week. (Sunday-Sunday)
Make sure to come back on Tuesday for this week’s Kindness Club Prompt.

Can’t wait to hear your stories.

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SORRY TO INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS
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