I sometimes forget.

I sometimes forget what is important. Tonight when Keaton returned from Knotts, where he spent the day with three other boys for a birthday party, he was telling us all about the fun he had. He stopped, and then stated there was only one thing that was not fun. He had gone to the bathroom and returned to two of his friends who were inline for a ride. His friends said it wouldn't be fair and therefor they wouldn't let him "cut". So he went to the back of the line about twenty people behind. Yet, when the fourth friend returned, the two other boys allowed him to "cut" and still left Keaton behind. He did not know if they did this to hurt his feelings or to tease him, but either way he realized how wrong this was and decided that he didnt need friends like these. He left and did his own thing.

When I heard this I became upset.....first as a mother whose child has been hurt. I too wanted to hurt, scream yell and state emphatically that these were not the kind of friends he needed......my second thought was "What! You went off by yourself at Knotts????" But I kept my cool instead and asked for more details. Keaton said he just did his own thing and after a couple of rides, the third kid who was "allowed" to cut called Keaton on his cell and asked if he could hang out with him. The two of them had fun together until the last two boys also hooked up with him.

I steamed for a couple more hours as I thought of the unfairness of the actions and replayed in my head the million of things that could have happened to Keaton........but then I realized I had missed a big point. I hadn't told Keaton how proud I was of him for realizing he was being mistreated and then standing up for himself, and doing it in a way that was perfect for him.