Lifelong lessons

are ones you have to learn the hard way.  But, the test of character is that you actually learn from your experience to not experience it again.

Blessing #4 chose to try her hand, literally, at stealing.  We walked in the door from Walmart and I handed her something to take in and she wouldn't take it.  She was holding her side and I immediately had a flashback to being in the store and she was holding her side then.  She does that sometimes, so I didn't think anything of it until this moment.  She eventually showed me the candy under her shirt.  And after a 5 minute prodding, she confessed she did, in fact, take it from the store.  Disappointed doesn't begin to describe the feelings we both had.  She's the child we had few fears for as she grows up.  But, we have to remember that all of our kids are human and WILL make mistakes.  I pray, though, it's not worse than this though.  The life altering mistakes are my biggest fears. 

So, I did what (I think) most parents would do and loaded her back into the car, took her back to the store and made her explain it to the manager.  The manager was great.  She got down to her level, explained that people go to jail for that everyday and they turn people in for that.  She told her to learn from it and thanked her for being honest and coming back to confess.  Then, she lipped 'thank you' to me and we left.  Needless to say she is being punished at home, but I'm pretty sure going there and facing it was a lot of the punishment.