Sunday, March 6, 2016

Forget me not

Our kids are pretty forgetful.
They can't find their shoes on a daily basis. They leave their coats at their friends' houses and their water bottles at school. I feel like the mornings and nights are filled with constant reminders.
Last Thursday night I reminded Julie twice to put her math homework in her binder. It was due Friday and she would not get credit if it was turned in late.

What did she leave sitting on  her desk on Friday morning?

The homework, of course.

I came very close to not taking it to school for her. I wondered if all these reminders and extra help were enabling the kids' forgetfulness. Maybe it was time to teach a little lesson in responsibility, I thought.

I googled "Should I bring in my child's forgotten homework?" and most responses or blogs I read were in favor of not bringing in the homework and making your child suffer the consequences.
A local friend agreed. "Maybe if it were her lunch or glasses, I would bring them. But not homework."

But I felt guilty. We live 2 minutes from school. Literally. I wasn't busy at all that day. I had no reason not to take the homework other than to teach Julie a lesson. But would she learn? Would it be a good lesson? Or would she think her mom just didn't care?

Then Scott finally texted back. "You should take it. She works so hard," he texted. "Plus we like her :)"

That's when I knew he was right. She's our daughter. Why not show her the love? Why not help her when we can? It's not like I was taking a final exam for her. I was bringing in her homework that she had struggled all week to complete.

If I hadn't taken it, would she have remembered it next time? Maybe. But maybe this time she learned the lesson that she's worth our time and we have her back no matter what.

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