Lucky Ned Pepper ought to be thankful he never had to deal with me because I am a better shot than Rooster Cogburn. Ok, I confess I have never taken the reins in my teeth and fired at four men while riding on horseback but I don’t think it is fair to disqualify me based upon not having had the opportunity.
Hell, I am still aggravated that I didn’t get the chance to invent the light bulb, start Google or invent Apple Computers, all I needed was a chance and those guys are all older than me.
Scratch that, I am older than the Google guys, but I never went to Stanford or attended any Ivy League school so it is not really my fault, now is it.
Accountability Is Lacking In Some Places
Don’t look now, but accountability is lacking in some places. Some people haven’t quite figured out that the line about reaping what we sow is more than just something people say.
I have thought about this more times than many of you realize for reasons that aren’t really important or pertinent to most of you. Let’s just say I am very clear on what I have done and what I haven’t done and how those things have impacted me.
And let’s say that part of the genesis of this discussion comes from a long distance telephone call with my son and a homework project that is due tomorrow. Did I mention it is a monster and that he has known about it for a week.
It is hard to try and lend a hand from this far away and frankly I am torn about this.
What Is My Role?
What is my role in this matter? Part of me says I should just let him flounder and flail through this because it will be a good lesson. Let him figure out what happens when he doesn’t plan.
But part of me feels a bit badly because he missed a week of school due to a bad case of the flu. I contacted his teachers and asked if they could send home work so that he wouldn’t fall behind and I never heard from them.
Not one email, telephone call or smoke signal came from the school.
I know some parents who would go to war over this and would fight like crazy on behalf of their kid, but I don’t want to do it because I don’t like the message it sends.
Sometimes things happen and we have no choice or option but to deal with it, because life isn’t fair.
Yet, I don’t think it is right for me not to try and help prevent my son from being dragged through the mud on this one, so I am doing that balancing act parents do. I am trying to lend some help.
But I have to concede it feels a bit like this to me.
What Is The Goal?
You can boil it all down to a simple question, what is the goal? What is the goal of the blog? What is the goal of a business? What is the goal of a parent? What is the definition of success in any and all of these areas?
It is a subjective answer, but here is what I am looking for:
The goal of the blog is to explore thoughts, ideas and feelings in a variety of areas and in the process become a better story teller and create a platform for something bigger.
The business is temporarily on hold so we’ll hold off answering that question.
As for my goal as a parent it is to raise children who grow up to be capable, able and productive members of society.
Action, Plans and Execution
I could give you a dozen blog posts about action, plans and execution that are all tied into blogging and or business advice but at the moment I am busy preparing to provide a bit more help with this monster homework assignment.
If I get that done and stop day dreaming about doing my impression of Rooster Cogburn I might actually write one and share it with you.
Until then, all I have to say is Yippie Kay Yay- isn’t Texas fun. 😉
You didn’t say how old your son was but I can tell you that if he’s younger than 17 and isn’t in college that I’d fight tooth and nail for him. Heck, it shouldn’t even involve a fight. Back in our day (sigh… lol) teachers paid attention and knew who was out for a long time, and never expected kids who just came back to be on top of things immediately. That almost doesn’t make sense unless this is a case where he missed time, went back, and was given an extra week that he didn’t take advantage of, and it doesn’t sound like that.
I have no kids so maybe my words don’t have as much impact, but I was a kid. I know that my parents went to war for me when they could, and the one time it didn’t work, they gave me a break at home because they understood the teacher was unreasonable (and a liar, but that’s for another time). If it’s not the fault of the kid, I think that’s fair. If not, then he has to learn.
I thought I recognized the title, which brought me here. One of the few John Wayne movies I ever saw. lol
Hi Mitch,
He was given time but didn’t use it as well as he could have. What I am not clear about is whether he received a proper explanation for what was required of him. That is really what sticks in my craw, I think he had the time to do it, but did he understand it.
I agree with the value and importance of making sure kids know we are there for them. I think mine do, at least I hope so.
There is a tricky balance between supporting them and helping them learn to advocate for themselves too.