Smashed

Today my beloved Curious George mug was smashed to bits, and it's my fault.

I had given the mug to Bear to drink from. He had been sad, and had wanted some milk, so I put the milk in the mug to cheer him up. Once he was finished I asked him to put it up on the counter so that Squirrel wouldn't find it and try to carry it around the house.

Bear is 4 and he forgets things. He left George on the pleather cube in the middle of the living room and moved on to play in his room. I was engrossed in whatever I was doing, and Squirrel toddled in and found his prize. He carried the mug to the sun room and with great gusto dropped in on the floor, where it promptly broken into 3 large pieces, and a zillion dusty shards of porcelain. I say with much honesty that I wasn't mad. I was sad. I pointed at the mug and gasped and Squirrel knew immediately that what he had done. He came to me and threw his arms around me as I bent down for the hug that he was offering. He gave my back a rub. Bear entered the sun room and when he saw the broken pieces he burst into tears. He thought it was his fault. He said that he was crying for the mug, crying because he was sorry, crying because I could never, ever bring it back again.

I cleaned up the mess and the 3 of us had a cuddle on the couch. I explained that even though the mug had been left where Squirrel would get it, and Squirrel had thrown it, I was the Mommy and I should have checked to make sure that the mug was safe. I know that in reality at his age Bear is going to forget to take the mug to the counter. He's a kid.

It seems pointless to get angry about the mug. What good would that do? I know that Bear, and to an extent Squirrel, had felt the upset over the broken mug. How could yelling at them be effective in any way?

When we sin, we feel guilt. We feel remorse for what we have done. God doesn't answer back to us "That was a pretty stupid thing to do. How could you do that to me? After all I've done for you? Shame on you!" God forgives us. I have committed so many wrongs against my God. Yet he forgives me. The least I can do is emulate that grace to my kids. Even if it's just a broken mug.