I just spent twenty minutes looking for Ryan’s graphing calculator.\u00a0 That’s on top of the 30 minutes Ryan spent looking last night.\u00a0 It is nowhere to be found.\u00a0 And that’s a bummer, because those\u00a0things are expensive.<\/p>\n
I have always told the boys that I will buy the first of whatever it is they need for school.\u00a0 Sketch book for art.\u00a0 Saxophone for music.\u00a0 Graphing calculator for math.\u00a0 If they lose it, it’s their responsibility.\u00a0 Harsh?\u00a0 Not at all.\u00a0 I’ve been doing this since elementary school (the boys are now in high school) and neither one has lost anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That doesn’t mean they haven’t come close.\u00a0 Ryan left his sax on the field one day after soccer practice, and luckily a parent picked it up and called.\u00a0 Nathan’s close calls usually have to do with his cell phone.\u00a0 And if any of your kids have had a retainer, well…you know what that’s like.<\/p>\n
Both boys are uber careful about keeping track of their stuff.\u00a0 That’s because they know what the established and agreed upon rules are, and that I’ll follow through.\u00a0 As I’ve said, I haven’t had the opportunity to follow through…yet.\u00a0\u00a0 Unless Ryan finds his calculator at school today, this may be the day.<\/p>\n
And here’s my quandary.\u00a0 Last night when Ryan was desperately looking for the calculator he was…looking desperate.\u00a0 It was obvious\u00a0he was pretty upset.\u00a0 That calculator could cost him $100.\u00a0 I told him not to worry, these things usually turn up (which explains my 20 minute search this morning.)\u00a0 I did not find it.<\/p>\n
But the irony of the whole thing is that less than two weeks ago, Ryan pretended that he lost the calculator.\u00a0 He showed me the “lid” to the calculator and tried to pull of being upset that he couldn’t find the rest of it.\u00a0 Ha, ha, ha, said I.<\/p>\n
I’m not ha-ha’ing now.\u00a0 And neither is he.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But the story gets better.\u00a0 \u00a0Kids at school steal stuff.\u00a0 So during one of his track practices when they leave their backpacks in a heap on the field, he took out the calculator and put it in his locker for safe keeping.\u00a0 I\u00a0 know, I know.\u00a0 I\u00a0am blessed with responsible kids…but with Ryan, it took a long time to get there.\u00a0 It’s about coming up with workable strategies – but that’s another blog entry.<\/p>\n
Ryan has proven he is responsible.\u00a0 One day when we went out for dinner, we hid his retainer.\u00a0 He got visibly upset that he thought he lost it.\u00a0 I will never do that again.\u00a0 But my point is, he cares and he tries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So back to the quandry.\u00a0 If he comes home from school today without the calculator, do I make him pay for the\u00a0 new one?\u00a0 That’s always been the deal.\u00a0 It was meant to teach responsibility.\u00a0 He’s proven responsibility.\u00a0 But things happen.\u00a0 Calculators get lost.\u00a0 Or stolen.\u00a0 Is it his fault?<\/p>\n
No, it’s not.\u00a0 But neither is it my fault.\u00a0 That said, I’m a pretty reasonable mom.\u00a0 I’ll probably cut a deal with him and we go in halvesies (sp??).\u00a0 I actually think he’ll be relieved because, as of right now, he believes he’s in it for the entire hundred.\u00a0 And I just don’t think that’s fair.\u00a0 What do you think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I just spent twenty minutes looking for Ryan’s graphing calculator.\u00a0 That’s on top of the 30 minutes Ryan spent looking last night.\u00a0 It is nowhere to be found.\u00a0 And that’s a bummer, because those\u00a0things are expensive. I have always told the boys that I will buy the first of whatever it is they need for school.\u00a0 Sketch book for art.\u00a0 Saxophone for music.\u00a0 Graphing calculator for math.\u00a0 If they lose it, it’s their responsibility.\u00a0 Harsh?\u00a0 Not at all.\u00a0 I’ve been…<\/p>\n