Today was not a good day.
I saw the school’s caller ID on the display on my work phone. There was still a chance that it wasn’t bad news. We had recently taken some supplies to local schools, so it could have been about that.
It wasn’t.
When I answered the phone, it was The Progeny’s math teacher. It’s never good when a teacher calls you at work. He had had to write her up.
She knows better than to do what she did. We know we have taught her better, but she made a poor choice today.
We were mad. We’re still mad.
We didn’t yell.
We took her computer and we restricted her activities. We also played some games with her, cuddled with her, watched a TV show with her, ate with her, and talked with her. But we didn’t yell at her.
Today, we had a choice. We could have yelled and let her know we were in charge and that she messed up. Or we could remind her that even when she messes up, we love her and will work with her. She’s not getting a free pass by any means, but hopefully today she learned that while there are consequences for her choices, she has parents who love her and will be there for her to help her find a way to do better next time.