If you aren't into the 100 Word Challenge (although it's never too late to join!) you can skip to my regular post about the ludicrous way cats sleep here!
For fellow Challengers, here is my entry for this week:
‘It wasn’t my fault.’ Teddy began, flushing
guiltily.
Anna looked from the mess of broken china to the
eight year-old standing helplessly beside it, and felt a surge of love for her clumsy
child.
‘It was Tigger, jumping up...’ he added lamely.
Anna knew the cat was outside.
‘You get the dustpan and newspaper,’ she said. ‘I’ll
start picking up the pieces.’
‘Sometimes all my fingers turn to thumbs too,’ she
said as they parcelled up the bits. ‘It’s
only a plate.’
‘Another plate.
Your special plate,’ Teddy mumbled miserably. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘I know,’ Anna said, kissing his head. ‘Plates don’t
matter. You matter.’
This is really touching - a lovely example of motherly love!
ReplyDeleteI love "Sometimes all my fingers turn to thumbs too." I know exactly the love Anna feels and the forgiveness that goes with it. So wonderful
ReplyDeleteAh, bless him.
ReplyDeleteAwwwww poor Teddy...
ReplyDeleteA really sweet story and very well written. It isn't always so easy to accept our children's weaknesses - who doesn't want perfect children? I think I would need more background here to make it truly believable though re: unconditional forgiveness. For instance, if it was a special plate, was he being disobedient by playing with a ball near the shelf, for instance? And what about the fib about the cat? Or maybe he was helping to set the table or do the dusting which would explain her saintliness :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your comments, and I'm glad you liked this piece.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a 'real' story, but one of my boys - a very gentle child - was very clumsy when he was young and often had accidents of various kinds. When I was a child my mother never made a song and dance about something being broken. As long as the guilty party owned up and apologised that was the end of it, and she always said people are more important than things. I'm sure I wasn't as good as she was, but clumsiness isn't intentional, and is more likely to get better if it isn't made into an issue. I certainly wasn't going for 'saintliness', just common sense. And my mother was right - people are more important than plates! Kids know that if something was special to you, you will have been sad to lose it, and a loving child will work the lesson out for himself, without having his nose rubbed in it!
This is a sweet story. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteLovely touching piece. Material possessions are way too important nowadays- this reminds people that there's nothing more important than love of your family.
ReplyDelete