A couple days before Christmas, Boise State had their Poinsettia Bowl game against Texas Christian University. Josh and Julie and the boys were in town, so we invited them over to watch with us, and hopefully celebrate the win with us. BSU put up a fight, but sadly, the final score was 17 to 16, TCU. There's always a period of awkwardness when 'The Big Game' doesn't turn out the way it was supposed to. And it was definitely that way that night. Everyone was pretty bummed. Haddon had been cuddling with me on the couch during the game. Not long after the game, amidst the silence, I noticed he was fighting back tears. My poor little guy. He really does love BSU! The following convo ensued:
Me: "Buddy! It's ok. Sometimes games don't turn out the way we'd like."
Had: *Silent sob*....."yeah"...wiping his eyes
Me: "Are you sad that they lost, or because the season is over?"
Had: "ahhh,...it's not that. It's just.....just...."
Me: softly "What bud???"
Had: "I...made a.........bet. And now I owe (insert TWO friends' names here) each 20 bucks."
Me: ??????(silence. Just stunned) :)
Had: "Maybe they'll just forget"...*Stifled Sob*..."I've only got $12 bucks. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO????" (Total meltdown)
Joel, Josh and Julie witnessed this whole conversation, and all were quick to stifle laughs and console him. Joel and I cautiously started on the parenting life lessons. You know: "Well, I guess this can be a lesson learned" "Now you know why we're not supposed to gamble" "It'll be ok, but now you've got to face the consequences" etc. etc. etc. The whole time this is going on I'm just dying inside - half of me wanting to bust out laughing, the other half wanting to cry for my little guy's first big moral dilemma. It's obvious that there was a lesson learned right there and then. His friends seem to have forgotten about it - not a word has been mentioned about the whole ordeal now that he's back to school. Did he really learn his lesson? Or should I drag the whole thing out further, and make him pay up on his bet. I can totally see the parents of the other kids hating me when they have a child saying "Hey, betting is awesome! I just got 20 bucks!" Maybe at the very least he should donate his money to a good cause. Here's the kicker though. Once we got Haddon calmed down and put to bed, we were laughing and talking over what had happened. Joel sheepishly kicked his toe a bit and lowered his voice, and said "The worst part is, I lost a bet too." (((((((((((!))))))))))) Long story short, Joel had to pay up on his bet and take a coworker to lunch. (TSK TSK HONEY!!!) ACK!!!!! What to do. What to do.
quiet time.
10 years ago
Ok, Court and I are laughing our heads off right now! I'm glad it is you having to figure out what to do and not me! Have him give the money as tithing!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness too funny!! I think I agree with giving the money as tithing or some sort of charity..You could also call the parents of the other kids involved, but do you want to go that far? I think you have to be in the mindset that if you didn't know about haddon doing this, but another parent knew would you want them to let you know, or would you be upset that they called you about it?? Tough one guys!! Good Luck!!
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