Simple Mistakes

I park in the street and am quite deliberate about locking my car. The other day I was moving groceries, dry cleaning and some home repair supplies into the house and must have forgotten to lock up. When I got in the car the next morning and the console and glove box were open, I realized my omission. The bag where I keep loose change was taken. Thankfully, the garage door opener was left behind.

 

Unless the world stops rotating, there are some predictable, simple mistakes that will probably occur this week to more than one member of our community. Someone will forget their school bag at home. Someone will pick up the wrong bag and not discover the error until they are home. Someone will misplace car keys. Someone will forget to set an alarm clock. Balls will be dropped, a line will be forgotten, an assignment will not be posted, we might even back into another car in the parking lot. Some people will handle these situations with an understanding that these are relatively minor events. For others, the event may be the final straw in an otherwise stressful day.

 

How do we help our children learn to deal with simple mistakes? Sir Ken Robinson reminds us that one cannot create something original without knowing that mistakes are probable. The challenge for us and our children is to learn something from the mistake. I will check my car door twice for the next few months. We will put our school bags by the front door before going to bed. We will have a specific place to put our keys when we walk in the house. We will teach and establish procedures in an effort to avoid making the same mistake.

 

We might also learn to apologize and find a way to make amends when we error. Many of us learned to apologize for our mistakes when we were little children and have continued the practice into adulthood. An apology lets others know that we know the boundaries of a relationship or social interaction. I am sure there are athletes who wish they could apologize for infractions rather than suffer the lost yards, free throw fouls, free bases, or minutes in a time out box. Yes, there can be penalties for mistakes in environments outside of sports but in most situations an apology is the social norm.

 

Thankfully, most children and adults we encounter in our Shorecrest community readily own their mistakes and are anxious to make things better. For some it takes both courage and humility to admit the mistake. I do not know anyone who wakes up in the morning and plans to make mistakes that make life difficult for others or for themselves. Yet, mistakes happen every day, often to the most responsible and trustworthy people. When we or our children make one of those mistakes, we have the opportunity to model Compassion and Respect, two of our Core Values. When we treat others with respect and compassion we improve the chances that we will do the same to ourselves the next time we leave the car open or misplace our keys.

 

Cheers!

 

Mike