A Repentant Heart

I will never forget that day. 

 I leaned across my pillow, shut off my alarm clock,

 and rolled out of bed, ready for yet one more day of my Senior year in High School.

Feeling pretty good about life as I stood in front of the bathroom mirror -

checking my teeth, pinching my cheeks, 

and adding one more little spritz of hairspray to seal the deal.

Yep, life was pretty much perfect as I stood 

with the bottle of Suave Extra Hold Pump spray in my hand.......

that is until I found my 18 year old self being spanked!!

Uh huh....you read that right.....SPANKED by my sweet little Dad,

right there in my bathroom where things seemed perfect just minutes before.

(My Dad would be mortified to know I was publicly sharing this story,
 but it has a point, I promise!)

I stared in shock as my Dad took the bottle out of my hand, 

then began to rant and rave something about how he had just bought 6

bottles 2 days before and now they were all gone.

All gone!

"Sarah Anne Randle, that is ridiculous to go through that much spray in that short of time.

The rest of the family needs some too and now there isn't any for anyone else!!!!"

He then took off out of the bathroom with the hairspray and left me standing there

dazed and confused and with a few squirly pieces that
could really use just one more spritz!

I left that morning without a word to my Dad.

I was so mad. So mad.

It ruined my whole day.

All I could think about as I sat in class was who in the heck had REALLY used all that spray.

If Nate weren't on his mission, I wouldn't have been blamed in the first place.

He definitely would have been the culprit!!!  ha ha

I resolved right there in class that I would go home and search until the mystery was solved.

I put Olivia, our truck, in park, opened the garage and headed straight upstairs

Much to my satisfaction, after searching every cupboard possible,

and as though a light were shining and a chorus of angels were singing -

I found those 5 darn bottles of Suave that had destroyed my whole day.....

Right in the back of my Dad's bathroom cupboard behind a stack of cleaning supplies!

I grabbed the bottles and placed them in a beautifully arranged display on the kitchen counter,

so they'd be in perfect view of the garage door when Dad walked in from work.

Sure enough he did, and silence followed for a minute.

I heard his footsteps on the tile floor, then up the stairs and into my room.

He looked at me with the, "Where do I start?" look.

He then apologized for his behavior and wanted to know where I had found them.

Dad and I had a good talk and to this day, we still laugh at his little blunder as a parent.

I forgave him, but still use that story as ammo any time I need,

 to work in my favor! (insert smiley face)

Fast forward to last night.

After checking in to Garrett's grades online to see how things are going,

it came to my realization he was getting a D+ in Advisory.

 ADVISORY?!!!!!

This is a class that was non-existant in my day and age.

Advisory is a 30 min class time they go to after the 1st period of every day.

During this time they work on homework, reading, study for a test or get help from the

Advisory teacher on anything they may need help with.

So, basically a beautifully wrapped "Easy A" class on a silver platter....

and my son is somehow pulling a D+. 

As my blood was starting to boil and my heart beginning to pound,

Garrett responds with a smile on his face, "Mom, that's good!  It was an F last week!"

WHAT?!!!!

I lost it.  I mean LOST it as good as Sarah Anne Randle Burke could.

I pounded a fist on the table and even uttered a naughty word - lost it.

"How is that good news worthy of a smile on your face, Garrett?"

Next thing I knew, Trav chimed in and we both began our Steve Randle rant and rave,

as if Garrett had used 6 bottles of hairspray in 2 days!

He then tried to tell us that he'd heard the teacher was 

just trying to motivate them by giving them all F's in that class, 

so that they would actually come and work rather than talk.

That seemed completely crazy to me.  Crazy weird.

So, what did I do?

I continued to rant and rave about 
how ludicrous that sounded and why on Earth would I believe that?

We took his Ipod away and told him it would be his again once that D+

was replaced with the more acceptable A grade we were looking for.

We then had a good long chat with Garrett for a solid hour 

on our expectations with his schooling and how he could meet them. 

I emailed that teacher, told him my concerns, asked for him to help me understand how my son

was pulling a D+ out of ADVISORY, and what we could do to bring it up.

I went to bed upset, frustrated and worried for his future.

I woke up this morning feeling horrible.

I could hear him in getting ready for school.

I helped him iron his shirt, make his lunch, then gave him a hug.

He got on his bike and headed off down the street, while I watched from the window.

Within just a few minutes, the phone rang.

Caller ID said it was the school.

I immediately picked up to hear, "Mrs. Burke?"

"Yes."

"This is Mr. So-n-so, Garrett's Advisory Teacher.  Did you by chance get my email?"

I hadn't checked since I had sent mine and left for bed.

"I emailed you 8 mins. after I received your email, but felt I should call you as well.

Just so you know, there is absolutely NO reason to be concerned about Garrett.

I gave all of the kids an F to begin with, in hopes of motivating them to come to Advisory

and get their work done or catch up on things, rather than talk and goof off.

Garrett is one of my most respectful and best students.

Infact, I use him as an example to the other students often.

I hear him several times telling other students to stop talking and goofing off, 

so he can get a good grade in this class.

He is a wonderful kid and you should be extremely proud of him.

I am so sorry if I caused him trouble with you and your husband."

 My heart sank.

I wanted to run to the school and check Garrett out.

Here I was staring at the hairspray so beautifully displayed on the counter - 

this time for ME to see and realize MY mistake. 

I called Trav and told him about the conversation and

 he too had the same  "punch in the gut" feeling I was having.

We resolved to be better parents, to be less quick to anger and to be a little more

 apt to listen and understand.

Why is it that sometimes the oldest is the poor guinea pig?

I learn so many things about being a Mom by raising Garrett.

I experience all my "firsts" through him and dang it.....sometimes I make mistakes in doing so.

I can only pray Garrett will be forgiving and that we too can laugh over this down the road.

And....I will not blame him if he too, uses this as ammo against me when needed.

Love you Bubba so much.

And.....I'm sorry.