Pick a Side

Originally Written Between 2016-2017                                                               

 

Norm and I saw the movie, “Eye in the Sky” this past weekend.  While watching the film, I kept thinking that the theme of the movie would be perfect for this week’s writing topic.  Norm and I talked about the different scenes and circumstances and how we would react if we were in that particular situation.  Well, I’m not going to talk about it because it is worth seeing and I don’t want to spoil it for you.

 

I’ve got to tell you.  I have been racking my brain since last Monday to come up with a “side” to take.  Sure, I could go the political route – but, you know what?  This year, it’s just too easy to pick a side!  

 

I eventually decided on a story to tell you.  A long time ago, when one of my three sons was nine or ten, I found myself in a position of picking a side.  I didn’t think much about it at the time.  This was your typical “boy disobeys the mom and the mom has to discipline the son” situation.  I will not name my son – to protect the guilty. 

 

It was a Saturday and I was doing my normal cooking, cleaning, and laundry chores.  I brought the folded clothes upstairs to put away when all of a sudden I smelled sulfur.  The bathroom door was closed.  I yelled, “Who’s in there?” as I opened the door.  I found “Nameless” lighting matches.  The look of “Oh, oh, I got caught” was in his eyes and he quickly threw the matches into the toilet and then followed me into his room.  Oh, yes.   I did the usual yelling that he could have burned the house down.  And “What am I going to do with you?”  And I then grounded him for two weeks.

 

“Nameless” was very sorry and said that he would never play with matches again.  To make sure he didn’t, I said:  “If you ever play with matches again, I will take away your bicycle for a whole year.”  I had to make the punishment tough so he wouldn’t try it again.

 

I bet you know what I’m going to say next.  Yes – a couple of days later, I smelled smoke when I walked into the house.  I ran upstairs and found “Nameless” in the bathroom lighting up the toilet paper.

 

What could I do?  I had to follow through on my punishment, didn’t I?  I had picked a side.  The adult side.  The “I make the rules and I can’t back down” side.  I knew that I probably went a little bit overboard when I said that I would take away his bike for a whole year.  But, when I was around his age, I had almost burned my house down by playing with matches and I just didn’t want that to happen to our house!

 

“Nameless” probably thought that I wouldn’t go through with it.  A year’s punishment just didn’t make any sense to him…. Right?  I so wanted to take back my punishment.   This episode happened right after school had let out for the summer – which meant that he could not ride his bike in June, July, August, September, and October.  The winter months really didn’t count, but then the punishment would resume in April and May.  A whole year.  What was I thinking?

 

I guess what I was thinking was that he had to have a punishment that would mean something.  I never thought I would have to go through with it.  Well, Norm put the bike in the rafters of the garage and “Nameless” found other ways to get to his friends’ homes.  

 

“Nameless” is now 46 years old.  I asked him last Christmas if he ever played with matches after that terrible bike-less summer, and he said that he never did.  I guess I picked the right side after all!