Lessons occur even on vacation

Wednesday 3/27: Another lazy day at the condo due to low temps and freezing winds. It’s the last day for Joey’s baseball tournament and today he has a double header so he and Eric left around 11, while the rest of us watched tv and movies all day. We also checked with the front desk of our building to see if we could find out where their famous ICEE machine was and were thrilled to hear that it was in two buildings over, so we all headed out for a little treat. Unfortunately, they had gotten rid of their machine and I guess, forgot to inform all the buildings, but it did get us out of the condo for a few minutes and a change to take a few pics of our views from the other side of our condo.

The view from the back of our building

Making our way to another building on the resort

Bre - hard to get a good pic when the sun is in your eyes!

Jayson racing everyone back to our room, too bad he was the only one racing!

Once we returned, I claimed the remote (which is hard to do in this family) and chose a few movies the kids hadn’t seen before, including ‘The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3’. Of course we all fell asleep later that afternoon and I woke up just in time to start dinner.

During dinner the kids and I discussed what they wanted to do tomorrow, since we would all be together. Jordyn wanted to hang out at the pools, especially since it is supposed to be much warmer and hardly any wind, and Jayson wanted to go to The Track (which has several go kart tracks, miniature golf, bumper rides, and kids country (which everyone but Jayson too old for). We tried to determine what activities Jayson would want to do there, in order to figure out what it would cost for our family to attend (we always throw in a math lesson when we can). After we determine how much it would cost to do the four activities Jayson chose, we then figured out which of the 4 options for ticket prices we needed. Ready to fall on the floor??? Four activities would cost $58….each! Okay maybe not really $58, we actually have three options to purchase tickets based on Jayson’s activity selection. We could buy 1) per ‘point’ at $0.93 a point (Jayson’s activities equaled 28 points), 2) a 72 point pack at $58.32, or 3) a 144 point pack for $99.36, and don’t forget to add the tax to those options. Jordyn and I decided it wasn’t worth the drive or the cost to go.

We also had a little parenting lesson, during this conversation and actually our entire trip, I have been trying to teach them more about money (where it comes from – because they honestly think we have an abundance of it and therefore we should be able do whatever they suggest, how much we have, and how much things cost – like this trip). But during this conversation it was discovered we have someone in our household who has ‘sticky fingers’. Said child had decided that because there was some money sitting out, that it was automatically theirs. Unfortunately, the rest of us knew they didn’t have this much money yesterday, because we had sarcastically made bets against them (and their video game skills) and they disclosed that they only had 30 cents on them, today they had $1.15, oops. Sadly, this isn’t the first time this year their sticky fingers have gotten them in trouble, last time their punishment was 3 weeks grounding. Today, it was a loss of privileges, including dessert, video games, movies, and any say on any activities for the rest of the vacation. Said child was also informed that dad who wasn't present at the time would be notified and mom would also be notified in order to assist in carrying out any recommended punishment, since said child would only be with us until Friday afternoon.

I may have gone just a tad overboard on trying to teach my lesson, but since this wasn’t the first offense, I really wanted my point to stick. Obviously, stealing isn’t going to be accepted or taken lightly in my household and since this was the second time said child was found guilty, I made it clear that three strikes (just like in society) you are out, and I would call the cops on them next time. Now I know they wouldn’t really do anything to said child, but most of the police departments in Alabama, will go far enough (at a parents request) to come to the home, handcuff them, and transport them to the station. Some will even go far enough to fingerprint them (which are given to the parents as a reminder) and will place them in a cell (if there is one available) for a short time. I also let said child know that the state of Alabama is harsher on punishment for stealing than other states, because they do have room in their jails. I even told all the kids that most sentences that I had read in the newspaper resulted in a minimum of ten year jail time, regardless of the amount of money the person stole. It was at this point that I may have gone a bit too far as I could tell said child was holding back the tears. But said child finished their dinner, cleaned up their items, and then disappeared. I had another family member go check on them, and was informed that said child was in their bed, so I stopped what I was doing and went to talk to them.

First and foremost, I apologize to said child, not for my statements or my extreme disappointment, but for the fact that said child felt the temptation to claim something as their own when clearly no one had given them the money. When then discussed how temptation is around us all the time, and maybe said child needed to look at things differently. We then turned the situation to the stolen money being theirs and another family member took it when they weren't looking, we discussed how they would feel, and then agreed that as an additional punishment, said child would loose any money they currently had on them and that amount would be given when said child returned the stolen money to the rightful owner. Again I could tell said child was fighting back the tears, and I asked them if they were okay, they replied they were but just wanted to lay down and be alone for a few minutes (about 30). They then asked if I would come and get them after that time, which I agreed.

Their time frame was cut short as another child wanted to go swimming and said child didn't want anyone to be left behind so they agreed to go with us. The best moment of our experience, when I asked said child if they were mad at me (one of my biggest fears being the (single) disciplinary, and their response was No, I am not mad at you, I am mad at myself for my choice. Huge hugs, followed by a night of swimming...until Eric returned shortly after our swim session and the discussion continued.