Life is like a “choose your own adventure” book. At the end
of each event you get to choose where the story goes next.
Elly and Jane got to school early and were the only two kids
on the playground. Elly slipped and fell in a mud puddle. Jane ran over, jumped
in the puddle, laughed and said, “You look better now than before!” Then she
ran away laughing.
Option 1: As Elly was brushing herself off, the bus arrived.
Rose, May and Sarah asked Elly what had happened. Elly told them about Jane. If
you want to see what happens next, turn to page 12.
Option 2: Elly stood up and brushed herself off. She saw the
bus pulling in and went to meet her friends. Rose, May and Sarah said, “Elly,
you’re covered in mud! What happened?” Elly said she fell in a puddle and
needed to go to the bathroom to clean up. Her friends said they would come with
her. If you want to see what happens next, turn to page 26.
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Page 12 – Rose, May and Sarah were angry. They told Elly
some things that Jane had done to them in the past. They all decided that it
was time for Jane to pay for her bullying. They came up with a plan to
embarrass Jane…
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Page 26 – At recess, Elly found Jane in a corner of the
playground. Elly explained how sad it made her that Jane didn’t help her up
when she fell down. Elly said, “Jane, the things you said and did made me sad.
I want you to be my friend.” Jane looked at the ground and said, “Yeah. I’m
sorry, Elly. I did the wrong thing.” The two returned to the playground together…
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We all can write the next part of both stories because we’ve
seen them. One leads to healthy friendships, the other leads to more hateful
words and actions that go on and on. The best option is to talk to the person
who hurt us, tell them what hurt and that we want to be their friend. It’s not
always the easiest way, but it is the best way.
As kids, you also have teachers, parents and chaplains to
help. You can ask a grown up what you should do and they will help you turn to
page 26!
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For more parenting pondering,
see the "Parently" section of this blog.
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