Stahlke Adoption

A Good Example

Yesterday after school, Kola had a major tantrum as we walked to the car, hitting and spitting among other things. After he got into the vehicle and I buckled his seatbelt, he started to throw things.

It was obvious Kola couldn't stay in the car, so I pulled him out and told him to sit on the grass. I turned back to find my keys, and a clump of grass landed inside my open purse. Kola was grabbing handfuls of grass and ripping them out of the ground. I took the grass out of his hand and moved him to the sidewalk. It didn't help, since he just reached over to the grass again and continued to pull it. Yet again, I moved him--this time to the intersection of two sidewalks where he couldn't reach the grass.

In addition to these actions, Kola was crying and screaming as loud as possible. He also yelled at me that he was bleeding, since I had accidently scratched his finger a little bit when I pulled the grass from his hand. At this point, the owner of the house came outside and asked Kola if he was ok.

She told me that she hates to hear children cry. Kola needed a tissue for his nose in the worst way, and when she offered to give him one, he nodded. Her attention distracted him, and he finally settled down enough that we could get home. I noticed that other parents were watching the whole incident from a distance.
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Today, as I approached the school twenty-four hours later, the crossing guard stopped me. Unbeknownst to me, he had also watched the entire episode the day before. He said that God had given me the gift of patience. After feeling so bad about yesterday's tantrum, his comment really buoyed my spirits. His gift reminded me to let people know when they do something good. It can make a big difference for them.

posted by Stahlkes @ 9:25 PM