Hi, and thanks for stopping by! One of the nice parts about being in Middle School is that I can do more things on my own. Finally! Now, my parents don’t have to take me everywhere…except for places that are too far for me to ride on my bike or when I have to go somewhere at night.
Recently, I learned a tough lesson about the responsibilities that come with independence. While I’ll tell you the whole story, the short version is that I didn’t do what I said I was going to do. This brings me to my life lesson: it’s important to follow through on your promises and commitments. While sometimes things happen beyond your control, you should aim to do what you say you’re going to do. By sticking to the plan, you’re less likely to find yourself in a sticky situation.
Here’s my story…
Behind the times
This year, I have been super busy. Between homework and track almost every afternoon, I’ve often run out of time for piano practice. Instead of practicing five or six times a week, it’s now usually four days. Much to my piano teacher and my mom’s disappointment. My big sister Jill claims that I’m probably moving extra slowly when I get home, just so I run out of time to practice. That’s not true! I told Jill she shouldn’t say that—especially around my mom. Am I right that siblings aren’t always the nicest?
More importantly, thanks to track, I now have a new good friend named Maxine. Everyone calls her Max. Max lives a bit farther away than most of my other school friends. It’s still bikeable to her house, but it takes at least thirty minutes to get there. I also have to ride on a busy road. Needless to say, my mom worries when I go to Max’s house. More than she already normally worries, that is. On a few recent trips to Max’s house, I’ve forgotten that I need to leave extra time to account for the longer distance. Unfortunately, my slip-up caused me to get home later than I said I would.
My mom was understanding the first couple of times. Since then, though, she’s been pretty firm about my getting home on time.
Unfortunately for me, I can’t seem to help myself from running into sticky situations.
Last Friday, Max and I didn’t have track practice so that we could rest after a meet.
The one day I didn’t have track, I, of course, didn’t want to use up my “free” afternoon with piano practice. Especially since Max asked me to come over. She had a new puppy and a better snack drawer than ours. I desperately wanted to go to her house.
Behind the times
After school let out, I checked with my mom to ask if I could go to Max’s.
“You can go. But, Noodle, you have to be home by six so that you can practice piano before dinner. No excuses about being tired or not having time today,” my mom said. “Is that a deal?”
I, of course, agreed. Since Max takes the bus, I biked over to her house. It was a nice day for a long bike ride.
We had a fun time taking her puppy out for a walk and listening to music. So much fun that I lost track of time. Again. There was no way I’d make it home by six once I realized what time it was. Once again, I found myself in a sticky situation.
Should I let my mom know that I’d be late—and risk getting a lecture? Or just leave Max’s house and deal with the lecture when I got home? Neither option seemed good.
Better late than never?
I opted to call my mom and ask for an extension.
“Can I stay a little longer at Max’s house, Mom? We’re having so much fun. And we’re reviewing for our History test next week.” I hoped the line about studying might buy me some more time. Even if our “studying” was really just complaining about how much material we had to go over.
“No, Noodle. We had a deal. You agreed to six o’clock.” I glanced at the time. The more I argued with my mom, the later I would get home.
“Well, I might be a little late,” I said. “I have to say goodbye to Max’s parents. And her dog. But I’ll be home as soon as I can.” I hung up the phone quickly. I knew my mom was going to be annoyed with me.
Was the fun afternoon worth getting into a sticky situation? Hmmm. I’d have to get home first to see how sticky things would be.
Race against time
I pedaled as fast as I could, hoping to be only a few minutes late. I was sweaty and out of breath by the time I got home. At six-thirteen. Maybe thirteen minutes late was close enough that I didn’t find myself in a sticky situation?
When I arrived, my mother greeted me at the door. Unfortunately, it wasn’t with a smile.
“Noodle, I’m glad you’re home safely. But let’s discuss your coming home after the agreed-upon time later tonight.” Thanks to prior experience, my mom knows not to have an important discussion right before dinner.
I knew I’d blown it on keeping my promise of being home on time. I’d have to stew in my own juices for a while. Speaking of juices, the chicken my mom was roasting smelled delicious. I hope it wasn’t my last good meal before being seriously grounded.
I wonder if there would be sticky rice to go with my sticky situation?
Max-ed out
Since I’d gotten home late, I could only fit in half of my piano practice before dinner. Later, after I’d gone back to finish piano and was getting ready for bed, my mom came into my room.
“Noodle, why did you come home after six o’clock?” she asked. “I thought we’d agreed on the time before you left for Max’s.”
“Sorry I was late, Mom. I just lost track of time.” I looked at the ground guiltily.
“Do you think that was a responsible choice, Noodle?” I shook my head “no.” I could tell that my mom, even though she spoke in a calm voice, was still steaming mad. “We’ve discussed the importance of coming home by the agreed-upon time before. Did you forget that, too?”
“No. But Max lives kind of far away. When I got to her house after school, there wasn’t a lot of time to hang out. I guess I didn’t want to leave so soon.”
“While I appreciate your honesty, Noodle, it doesn’t change the fact that you aren’t following through with what you said you’d do.”
“I’m really, really sorry. It won’t happen again.” I hoped maybe an apology and promise would do the trick. Nope.
Cause for alarm
“An empty apology won’t cut it, Noodle. What are you going to do differently to prove that Daddy and I can trust you when you’re on your own?” my mom asked. I guess now I was really stuck in my sticky situation.
I thought for a moment about what I could do.
“Ummm. Maybe I could set a timer or an alarm for when I need to leave? And then actually leave?” That suggestion seemed kind of simple. But it was the first thing that popped into my head. I waited expectantly for my mother to answer.
“OK. Let’s give that a try. I hope we can make this new approach work.” My mom kissed me goodnight. I breathed a sigh of relief when she left.
I have to admit, I thought I’d hear “no hanging out with your friends for the rest of the month.” Or maybe for every minute I was late, that was a minute I’d have to come home earlier the next time. But my mom surprised me with the opportunity for me to solve my lateness problem.
Jill poked her head in my door later that night. “Boy, you got off easy. You’re welcome for breaking mom and dad in for you.” Argh! Sisters!
Going the extra mile
The next morning, my dad also had a conversation with me about being late. “Think of this experience as practice for when you’re older. You’ll thank your mom and me for teaching you the importance of being on time. Especially if you win an award for most punctual employee when you’re older.” I doubted that would happen. But I understood his point.
Expectations are expectations, no matter how old you are.
I vowed that I’d try harder to get home on time from that moment on. I’m happy to report that so far, things have been good. Maybe my newly established “trustworthiness” will mean I can have some extra spending money? Though I think I’ll leave that alone for a while. I don’t want Jill suggesting to my parents that I should get a job. I don’t need to win the most punctual employee award just yet!
Until next time, be your best you.
Do you have any stories about learning an important lesson from an experience? Please share with them me in the comments section!
