Things just get weirder and weirder.
Have I told you how naughty my kids are? Well, they are! Very naughty. Now you know.
In September, First Son got a handheld Nintendo game for his birthday from his grandparents. In November, Second Son got one for his birthday too. They were both strictly forbidden to take them to school because obviously I didn't want them getting lost or stolen.
Well, First Son disobeyed me. It took a while for me to notice, but I finally did notice that he wasn't playing with his Nintendo any more. He said he didn't know where it was. Granted, stuff does tend to disappear around our house. The kids are constantly asking me if I have seen such and such a toy or item of clothing. I didn't think much about it. In fact, I forgot the boys even had Nintendos until Christmas, when their grandparents bought each of them a new game to play on their consoles. At that point, I though it was weird that I hadn't seen the Nintendos in a long time, but neither boy would admit that they had lost it so, even though I had my suspicions, I played along and told my parents they must be around here somewhere.
Last week, I came right out and asked First Son if he had taken his Nintendo to school and lost it. He admitted that he had. Needless to say, I was VERY upset. I was actually, literally rendered speechless. Then I started to panic. What was I supposed to tell my parents when they came to visit? My worry about how their feelings would be hurt that First Son hadn't taken good care of their gift to him was such that it even overshadowed any thoughts of punishment - and I was fuming because First Son definitely deserved punishment.
I had all but decided that First Son must himself tell his grandparents about what happened, but I myself was so upset and disappointed that I wasn't prepared to let my parents go through the same thing. I wanted to protect them. I was so disappointed in my son but I was also very hurt that he would disobey me and lie about it for so long. I was also desperate to get the Nintendo back, but after so many months there was no point calling the school about it. (I must admit I also have VERY ugly feelings towards the child who took the Nintendo out of First Son's backpack AND towards that child's parents. I mean, seriously, your kid comes home with a $200 Nintendo and you don't ask any questions?! Grrr!)
Well, my mother just had hip replacement surgery for the second time because her first artificial hip actually broke. She is bedridden and won't be up and about for the next six weeks or so. My parents live in the States, so the operation was very expensive, and I have no desire to upset them about how their beloved grandson didn't care enough about the expensive present they gave him to take good care of it. So instead, I decided to try to find a replacement. Also, I sat down for a talk with Second Son and asked him to be honest with me regarding his Nintendo. Well, my young six-year-old wouldn't 'fess up, but I didn't have much doubt about where his Nintendo probably was, so when I found one on kijiji that was the same color as the one he had had, I decided, with a heavy heart, to buy it as a replacement.
So today I put the three kids into the car and drove 25 minutes to Barrhaven to buy an aquablue Nintendo 3DS to replace the one Second Son had lost. So now I figure he can play the game that he got for Christmas, but I draw the line at replacing the game that was in the console that he lost. And I made it clear that I was only buying this replacement to save Mama and Papa's feelings, and that under no circumstances was it to leave the house. Ever.
Well, Second Son literally smothered me with kisses today and promised to take good care of his new toy, but he also kept saying that he didn't take the other one to school and that he didn't know what had happened to it. He says he hid it under his covers when he went to school one morning and he hasn't seen it since. Yeah, likely story.
Well, to humor Second Son, and also to prove to him that what he was saying was impossible, since I wash his sheets every week because he is allergic to dust and dust mites, I looked for the Nintendo with him. I showed him how it wasn't under his bed (we vacuum under there almost every day) and we pulled his bed out to check that there was no Nintendo stuck between the bed and the wall. There was no need to shake out his blankets since, as I said, they have been laundered countless times since November. Second Son wanted me to lift up his mattress too, but I told him I lifted it every week when I put his fitted sheets back on. But, he insisted. So, we lifted his mattress clear off the bed and, 'lo and behold! there was his Nintendo, right smack dab in the middle of his bed, lying on the sheet of plywood that holds his mattress. You could have knocked me down and blown me over with a feather! Unbelievable!
An attitude adjustment was immediately called for. I humbly asked Second Son to forgive me for not having believed him when he said he didn't take his Nintendo to school. (And I bit my tongue so I wouldn't ask WHY he hadn't asked me to look for it before we went and got him another one!)
I suppose I could once again say that all's well that ends well, except that there are a lot of things that still bug me about all this:
1) My son told me the truth and I didn't believe him.
2) My other son told me the truth and instead of punishing him I became his accomplice in keeping my parents from finding out about it. I mean, is that good parenting? I am really not sure.
3) Why, oh WHY did I not find a black Nintendo on kijiji first so at least First Son's sin could be canceled out by now and we could all live happily ever after? (I am still looking for a black one at a reasonable price to replace the one he lost at school)
4) Mostly, I am still haunted by how awful I felt when I realized that both Nintendo's were probably gone, and how hurt my parents would be when they found out that the boys had taken such bad care of presents that their grandparents had given to them out of love. I love my parents very much and I just hate to think of them being hurt.
As a little post scriptum, I can tell you that Daughter was very eager to put our second aquablue Nintendo 3DS on kijiji so we could sell it. She wanted to make a profit off it. I did not agree with this. I wanted to sell it for the same price that I had bought it for this morning. On the other hand, I had really lucked out in buying it for $100, whereas all the other ones available are at least $120. So, as a compromise, we advertised it as "Make me an offer." Well, our first offer was $15. After a bitter laugh, I refused it. I didn't want to reply that I wouldn't accept any offer under $100. Instead, I changed the ad to read, "Make me a *reasonable* offer." I thought that was fair. I am in no great hurry to sell it. It is more important for me to find a black one for First Son first.
So, am I a bad mom, a bad daughter, and a greedy capitalist to boot? I hope not, but you are all entitled to your opinions.
Well, to humor Second Son, and also to prove to him that what he was saying was impossible, since I wash his sheets every week because he is allergic to dust and dust mites, I looked for the Nintendo with him. I showed him how it wasn't under his bed (we vacuum under there almost every day) and we pulled his bed out to check that there was no Nintendo stuck between the bed and the wall. There was no need to shake out his blankets since, as I said, they have been laundered countless times since November. Second Son wanted me to lift up his mattress too, but I told him I lifted it every week when I put his fitted sheets back on. But, he insisted. So, we lifted his mattress clear off the bed and, 'lo and behold! there was his Nintendo, right smack dab in the middle of his bed, lying on the sheet of plywood that holds his mattress. You could have knocked me down and blown me over with a feather! Unbelievable!
An attitude adjustment was immediately called for. I humbly asked Second Son to forgive me for not having believed him when he said he didn't take his Nintendo to school. (And I bit my tongue so I wouldn't ask WHY he hadn't asked me to look for it before we went and got him another one!)
I suppose I could once again say that all's well that ends well, except that there are a lot of things that still bug me about all this:
1) My son told me the truth and I didn't believe him.
2) My other son told me the truth and instead of punishing him I became his accomplice in keeping my parents from finding out about it. I mean, is that good parenting? I am really not sure.
3) Why, oh WHY did I not find a black Nintendo on kijiji first so at least First Son's sin could be canceled out by now and we could all live happily ever after? (I am still looking for a black one at a reasonable price to replace the one he lost at school)
4) Mostly, I am still haunted by how awful I felt when I realized that both Nintendo's were probably gone, and how hurt my parents would be when they found out that the boys had taken such bad care of presents that their grandparents had given to them out of love. I love my parents very much and I just hate to think of them being hurt.
As a little post scriptum, I can tell you that Daughter was very eager to put our second aquablue Nintendo 3DS on kijiji so we could sell it. She wanted to make a profit off it. I did not agree with this. I wanted to sell it for the same price that I had bought it for this morning. On the other hand, I had really lucked out in buying it for $100, whereas all the other ones available are at least $120. So, as a compromise, we advertised it as "Make me an offer." Well, our first offer was $15. After a bitter laugh, I refused it. I didn't want to reply that I wouldn't accept any offer under $100. Instead, I changed the ad to read, "Make me a *reasonable* offer." I thought that was fair. I am in no great hurry to sell it. It is more important for me to find a black one for First Son first.
So, am I a bad mom, a bad daughter, and a greedy capitalist to boot? I hope not, but you are all entitled to your opinions.
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