I was doing some quick shopping with the crew at the pharmacy today.  As I was herding everyone into the car after we had finished, I noticed that my daughter was trying to hide something in her pink blanket.  I caught a glimpse of a neon color.  I couldn’t make out what it was but knew instantly that she had taken something from the store.

I asked her what she had in her lap, and she said “nothing”. Outright lie. I knew by the look on her face that she was trying to convince me otherwise.  I thought quickly to myself, “Here’s one of those life lessons”, so I took a deep breath and dove in.

I uncovered her blanket to expose the stolen stuffed animal of bright colors.  She knew instantly that she was caught and immediately started crying with those genuine crocodile tears.  There was no way she was getting out of this one.  So, I explained that we had to return the item to the store, and we did.  She cried the whole way through.  I asked her to give the animal back to the clerk and apologize.  Then, I asked her to apologize to me for trying to hide this from me and for telling a lie.  I discussed in what I think was age-appropriate detail the law concerning stealing, what it means to steal and lie, what our faith says about stealing and lying, etc.  She continued to cry.  We got back into the car and drove home.  I didn’t bring it up anymore, and neither did she.

I hope I handled the situation appropriately.   That was a first time for me.  Maybe I hadn’t explained the concept of stealing to her before today.  I don’t know.  I guess only time will tell…

Well, enough about that.  Time to prep for the week-batter up!