I'm Free

I am having a hard time sleeping tonight. It has been happening all this week. You know, when you have an issue to solve and you are looking at it from all directions? So I have been chewing and chewing on it hoping that soon it will taste right in my mouth. Until that happens, I don't sleep well. I have a couple options when sleep alludes me. One is to read and the other is to write. Tonight I will write down one of my favorite stories.

When our oldest son, Matt, was in elementary school he had trouble getting ready in the morning in time to make the school bus. The first several times we drove him to school. But he started getting in the habit of missing the bus. So Bryan decided to solve the situation by making Matt pay us to drive him to school when the bus left without him. The next time Matt was late Bryan charged Matt $1 for his chauffeured ride to school. He informed Matt that each time he missed the bus the cost would go up by an additional dollar. Matt got to $4 before he learned to be ready on time.

Our youngest son, Brett, was more of a challenge. The first time Brett missed the bus it was in late October of his kindergarten year. Bryan said, "I will drive you to school but it will cost you $1." Brett was hysterical. He only had 64 cents. So Bryan had Brett make out an IOU for the remaining 36 cents and then drove him to school. Bryan and I patted ourselves on the back for another successful parenting story.

That noon when I picked Brett up from school the teacher came out to the car and said, "What is this Brett tells me about you charging him to go to school?" I blushed bright red and said, "Only when he misses the bus." She looked disappointed in me.

When Brett and I got home the mail had arrived and there was an envelope addressed to Brett. It was a card from a nice woman at church who wasn't going to be home on Halloween night. Brett always liked to go Trick or Treating at her house and she felt bad so she sent him $1. Brett held up the bill and said, "I'm free."

Bryan worked late that night and Brett had to go to bed before Bryan got home. But Brett made me promise him that I would send his dad in to kiss him good night. Bryan tiptoed into Brett's room and kissed him on the forehead. Immediately, Brett sat up and pulled out his little boy wallet out from under the covers. He retrieved his newly received money, handed it to Bryan and said, "You owe me 64 cents."

The next day when Brett got home from school he asked me if there were any jobs he could do around the house to earn money. I said, "What are you saving for?" He said, "The next time I miss the bus."

I remember one morning encouraging him to hurry so that he didn't miss the bus. He said, "It's okay. I have plenty of money. I plan on having you drive me today." When Brett got up to $9 I finally decided that a new strategy was in order. I told him that I wasn't ready to drive him to school that morning. I needed to shower, do my hair, trim my fingernails, load the dishwasher and start the laundry before we could leave. Suddenly the tables were turned. Brett started telling me to hurry up. I took him to school an hour and a half late and he had to fill out paper work about why he was so tardy. He didn't miss the bus again.

When I think of that story, I smile. I didn't smile at the time, however. Brett...always thinking....always planning...always trying to let me know who was really in charge.