Since it was to be a bit cooler on Saturday during the campout, I suggested to the boy that he bring one of his heavier sweat coats. It’s basically perfect for Fall and early Spring temps and, having a zipper, I figured it would be easier to take off than a sweatshirt.
My suggestion led to the one spot of trouble the boy had. He couldn’t find the coat and started getting upset. The thing of it is, I could tell that he’d barely looked it, and I let him know as much. My boldness only served to agitate him more. By the end of it, I was ticked off because he’d barely put any work into finding it; and, he was ticked off because he couldn’t find it and I refused to find it for him. He ended up going with just a pullover sweatshirt.
Fast-forward to this morning. He’s getting ready to head out to the car so I can take him to school. Lo and behold, he’s wearing the very sweatcoat in question. I paused a moment and then said “Well, well- where was that?” His initial reluctance to answer was all the answer I needed. It had been on the coat rack all along. But to admit so would also be admitting that he hadn’t looked very well.
So he improvised: “I don’t know how it got there! I looked before and it wasn’t there. This morning it was. Really!” His statement that high-toned, defensive quality that kids get when they’re actively trying to obfuscate a situation.
Sigh.
I didn’t say anything. I just smirked at him. He didn’t particularly care for that. Eventually, he stalked out to the car in a huff.
The kicker is, we’ll replay this whole act again. It’s a matter of when, not if. Lessons are taught until they’re learned.