Dear Ian

Dear Ian,

I think you learned a powerful lesson today. At least, I hope you did. Yesterday, you had a really bad day. And, today you had to pay for it and so did I. Today, was my first 'talk' with the principal at your school. Thankfully, that talk was not requested by Mr. Leopold, but initiated by me!

You learned that it is never okay to be unkind. You were not nice to your friend, Sarah, in the car on the way to school. We discussed it, you apologized and I thought that was the end of your problems for the day. Wow, was I wrong! You told the other Ian in your class that even though Miss Popp said there was not going to be any storms, there was going to be a large tornado. You knew he was afraid of storms, yet you still said that! We discussed the note from the teacher when you got home. We went out on a errand and you were hateful to me. You spent time in a corner at the store! How lovely it was standing there as all the people filed past! Thankfully, I am beyond being embarrassed about it. I don't have a problem putting you in the corner in public as I feel I would be doing the world a disservice if I just ignored your actions like some parents. Finally, you settled down. We had dinner and all was right in your world again. I am not sure what switch was flipped for that to happen, but I am happy that it did!

This morning, you got up worried about what I was going to do. I decided last night how to handle this one. I walked you into school. We stopped to talk to the principal. I made you apologize to him for being mean to another student. Then, I walked you to class which is something I have not done since the first few days of school. I made you apologize to your teacher and to the other student.

Why did I do that you kept asking? Because I realize that it is not cool/fun for Mom to walk you into class and make you apologize in front of everyone for something you did. Hopefully, you figured out that not only do you not want that to happen again, but that you also will be kind to others. My intention was not to embarrass you, but to make you think about what you do before you do it. It was a painful lesson, but one that I hope you will remember for the rest of your life.

Remember that I will always love you no matter what you do. And, I will always make you answer for the things you do! It is so important to you are always kind, that you treat others with respect and that you learn from your mistakes.

Love,
Mommy