Sorry

My two year is cute. He’s definitely got the ‘Ahh’ factor, the cheeky smile, the big blue eyes, the twinkle of a shoulder shrug. You’ve all seen Puss in Boots, you get the idea! Even when he’s grumpy it doesn’t last long and his ‘goblin on his lip’ face is so cute it makes everyone smile. My beautiful niece, who is a bit of a giddy giggle pants anyway, can’t stop laughing at anything he does. ‘Tee he, he, he, Look! He’s walking /sitting / eating!!!!’ – or any number of mundane not particularly cute activities. One of his latest things is apologising. Cute apologising He thinks it is an enchanted incantation that takes away any trouble. I think he might be right.# Sometimes, he utters the magic phrase, ‘Dorry!- A ded dorry!!!’ after biting / hitting / scratching my five year old, and it is all I can do to smother the smile through the wailing of the big boy to continue to tell him off – he probably knows this! It took me a long time to realise the power of an apology. When I was a child I was more like my five year old – stubborn and a little unappealing - not being blessed with the cute factor and as the eldest child burdened with a responsibility beyond my years. It made life harder. I’d spend hours, evenings and sometimes days in my room (no T.V. in those days, only a ‘taped from radio’ version of the top 40 to keep me entertained!) banished from family life until I apologised for some misdemeanour or other usually something I’d said. I had a harsh tongue in those days and a mouth full of ‘I hate you’s!’ and a stubborn personality a little too much like my mothers – fuel and fire! My little brother was the opposite he would do or say anything to put it right and have everything back to normal again ( – not with me I might add) Sometimes to the point of begging my mum for forgiveness and cuddles. Weird thing is now, he almost never apologises. He never really thinks of himself as wrong, but that’s a different issue! I on the other hand, have finally learnt my lesson and apologies fall easily from my lips. Life is too short to stay angry. Anyone important to me gets an abundance of apologies for even the slightest slight. Now just got to work on the sulky five year old who screams his apologies in temper or is struck dumb at the thought, too embarrassed about whatever he’s done to speak, awkward at the attention. ‘Apologise when you need to, sincerely and without condition - life is easiest this way, son.’ falls on deaf ears....