Teachable Moments

I'm not always aware of moments that I can turn into memories and moments when I can teach my girls by example.

But today, while at Walmart (where else?) I was able to use a moment of embarrassment and make it a lesson for Alyssa.

We were walking along the aisle just beyond the registers. There was a trashcan in the aisle. It was probably 18 inches tall. From experience, I knew it was probably there to catch water that was leaking from the roof.

Alyssa, in her finite 9 year old wisdom, thought it was a good idea to try to leap over the bucket.

She knocked it over and spilled the water that had been inside it.

I set the trashcan back up and caught the eye of one of the cashiers. She smiled and said she'd get someone to clean it up.

I guided Alyssa away from the mess and paused to explain that incidences like that are why we don't go about leaping over things in public. At home? Okay, fine. But while in public, we can't always know why they'd put the trashcan right in the middle of an aisle.

She was embarrassed by her behavior and chose to climb into the cart a bit later.

It wasn't really that big a deal but it was a chance to remind her that sometimes, she needs to reign in her impulses. That thinking about how her actions might affect others is always a good thing.

I'm just glad she's willing to listen to me and that I was able to retain my own sense of humor in a moment of embarrassment. I didn't yell at her, I didn't go beyond what was necessary as I talked to her.

And it was over and forgotten while retaining the lesson (I hope) within about five minutes.

It's moments like that when I think I might be doing okay at this whole mom thing.