Choose to be brave - Have courage to be kind

I had a "proud of my kid" moment this morning while (of all things) cleaning out Hannah's back pack.  I have to back up and tell the beginning of the story first though.  It all started with me being behind schedule in getting the teacher gifts together for the kids to give out.  So there it was the last day before the Christmas break around lunch time and I arrived at the school with the gifts.   JJ's class was just coming in from recess so I handed his teacher's gift to him, gave him a hug and sent him on his way.  Hannah's class was still in the middle of recess so I tracked her down out on the grassy playground.  As I approached I saw something that made me physically ill.  Hannah and another one of her friends were pushing and shoving another little girl away from their group.  They were yelling at her and telling her to go away.  I was stunned.  I had never seen Hannah act that way before - normally she is the most sensitive to other peoples feelings.  As I walked the rest of the way over I saw the little girl sit down on the grass and cry.  It broke my heart not only for her but for the horror I felt at watching Hannah treat that girl the way I was treated all of my elementary school years.  All the pain from those memories came rushing back.  I made the decision right then and there that Hannah would know for sure that was NOT ok and that she would never want to do that to anyone again.  First I stopped what was happening then I let all of the kids in Hannah's group know that what they were doing or watching happen was NOT ok and that I never wanted to see that happen again.  Then I checked on the little girl.  After seeing that she was ok I took Hannah back in to the school explaining to her along the way that there are consequences for that kind of behavior and that I was really surprised to see her do that because it is not the way that she normally she is.  I reminded her that it is her nature to be sensitive to the feelings of others not unkind and mean.  First we found her teacher and I had Hannah explain what she did.  Her teacher expressed similar things to what I said.  I told the teacher that I didn't want Hannah to participate in the class Christmas party.  I think that her teacher thought that was harsh but I know Hannah well enough that I knew that very little else would make a big impression on her (pulling tickets is the normal class discipline method).  Next we visited with the principal.  I felt a little guilty about taking the principal's time over this but I knew that it would make a BIG impression on Hannah because our principal is a bit intimidating.  Again I had Hannah explain what she had done.  At first she didn't want to and said that she didn't know.  The principal called her on that little falsehood and Hannah finally opened up and admitted what she had done.  The principal then had her come and stand by her  - held her hands and looked her in the eyes and talked about how we don't do things like that at our school and how she was sure that isn't something that Hannah normally does.  She told her that she was sure she was sorry and that she would do her best to make it right.  They talked about what Hannah could do to make it right. The principal actually thanked me as we were leaving for bringing her in. After that we had Christmas break and although I reminded Hannah 2 weeks later I wondered if because of the long time lapse if she would remember what she committed to do to make it right.  Then frankly I forgot all about it what with getting ready for Hannah's baptism this week and getting back into the swing of routine.  This morning I opened up her back pack to clean it out and I  pulled out some papers.  The first was a picture she had drawn of all her friends together including the little girl she was mean to.  Next I pulled out a note that the little girl had made for Hannah saying thank you to Hannah for being so nice to her this week.  It also said that she was sad that she would be moving soon because she would miss Hannah.  I got really choked up and I turned to show Hannah what I had been looking at and she just smiled at me and said that she had played with the little girl at every recess this week and so had her other friends.  I could tell that she felt really good about the choice she had made to be kind even though it took some courage to say sorry and try to make friends with the little girl.  This experience really inspired me to look at some of the choices I make every day - do I choose to be brave enough to say I am sorry when I have hurt someone?  I admit  - not always.  I am so grateful for the things my kids teach me.  They truly bless my life.