It happened over a month ago but I'm just now to the point where I can talk about it. There was nothing spectacular about the event itself. A mere blip on the radar of life really.
M., A. and Z. were sitting at the table, eating breakfast. I was nursing a cup of coffee and reading news on the internet. A. had finished his bowl of Cheerios and was playing with some Lego minifigures. Having toys at the table is small infraction as far as three year-old boys go but it's against the rules nonetheless. He dropped one of the figures onto the table and Legos flew in all directions. I instinctively reached out to grab them, bumping my cup of coffee in the process, the contents of which, all sixteen ounces of hot, sticky goodness, spilled into the keyboard of my Macbook. Apple goes to great length to warn consumers about the perils of exposing electronics to liquid. And now I know why. My precious laptop was instantly DEAD. The ensuing moments are a blur. I remember scrambling to wipe up the mess, a lot of screaming, my little boy weeping and repeating "I'm sorry Daddy" over and over, a little more screaming and then suddenly, like someone had snapped their fingers drawing me out of a hypnotic state, a voice inside my head scolded me "Hey Dummy, it's just a stinking computer, that broken little boy is way more important!" I put down the paper towels, hugged A. and said "It's okay buddy. I forgive you." He simply melted, whimpering in my arms. "Daddy, I'm berrrry sawrrry." "It's okay, it was an accident and I forgive you."
Later in the day, as I was disassembling the Macbook, trying to clean out the mess and hoping for a miracle, J. walked up with a puzzled/frightened look on his face and said, "Daddy, WHAT are you doing?" I recounted the morning's fiasco, and when I got to the end, A said, "Yes, but Daddy forgave me, right Dad?" Big questioning stare.....
Whenever there's an argument or an altercation within among our kids we always stress the importance of asking for forgiveness. It usually goes something like this. "Tell your sister you're sorry! No! Look her in the eyes and tell her you're sorry. Now, tell her again and this time say it like you mean it." When we screw up seeking forgiveness is important. As this recent incident reminded me, it's equally important for us to let people know they are forgiven. A. knew he had messed up and felt very, very, very sorry for what happened. He also knew that he wanted to be forgiven, he wanted to know that it was okay and he needed to know that our relationship wasn't damaged. Thank God his father eventually had the sense to remember his son is more important than a laptop, even it it was a Macbook Pro, and more importantly thank God that we're forgiven!
