Two girls ran away, laughing, with their smocks over their t-shirts.
I didn't notice that, but the other scholars did. I looked out over the playgroound for the miscreants, to no avail. I shrugged it off. They've been sitting in my garage for 15 years; I have 2 huge boxes still there; the girls were laughing and that's always my goal; and I couldn't remember who they wtere, anyway.
A few minutes later, they came back, slightly abashed. T They couldn't return the smocks; they had removed their original t-shirts. Nudity is not encouraged on our campus. I reminded them that they had misbehaved and that I was not thrilled with them..... but they could keep the BEYOND! shirts.
There were doctors and surgery and more doctors this week, so Thursday was my first day back in the garden. While I was setting up the day's project, the two naughty third graders suddenly appeared before me.
We're sorry we took the shirts, Grandma. We're really sorry.
They came on their own. They were properly abashed. Their faces were really sorry, as they met me eye to eye, confident and diffident at the same time.
I almost cried. Instead, I told them that I was proud of them. Everyone makes mistakes and does dumb things and I know that I did (pause for a painful memory or two to flash across my brain) and the fact that they took responsibility for their actions and came back to repair the damage impressed me a whole lot more than their absconding (yes, I said absconding) with the t-shirts had depressed me.
No, they didn't want to stay and paint. We shook hands and they went on their way.
It was a good day in Grandma's Garden.
