The Gratitude Police and grace

Well, I missed Saturday and Sunday so the first thing I am thankful for is that there is no such thing as the 30 Days of Thanks police and that no one will be coming to confiscate my computer as punishment for my poor participation.  Phew!

It was an odd weekend in some respects.  Little T had a classmate over to play which gave all of us cause to be thankful and to practice grace.  This young boy, all of about 10 years old, is Korean and is going to school here in the States away from his family, his homeland, and his culture of origin.  He lives here with guardians whom I believe are also Korean and goes home to visit during school breaks (provided they are of sufficient length to warrant the 9 hour plane trip home).  He has been doing this since the third grade.

He is a quirky child and it made me proud that Little T has befriended him since I wonder how well he relates to the other children.  He prefers to dress formally, listens to classical music and is a bit OCD when it comes to cleanliness and hand washing.  He has no interest in sports (other than Tae Kwon Do, in which he is quite accomplished).  He doesn't care for video games or TV.  It was a little embarrassing for me when I caught myself wondering, what on earth will they do?  But, of course, there are other options and they did find them.

Unfortunately one of the other options turned out to be the destruction of our house.  Both incidents were accidents, certainly not intentional, but they left Superdad and I wondering if this boy might possibly be bionic.  He was more than apologetic.  He actually seemed a bit afraid as to what the consequences might be until I assured him that we were not the sort of adults who believe in punishing children severely for mistakes, however much damage they might have caused to our walls and doors.  He seemed slightly reassured by that but never stopped apologizing for his "incompetence" and for giving "a very poor impression."  

I don't know if he will ever come over again.  It wouldn't surprise me if he felt too mortified to ever set foot in our house again and I'm not sure the playdate was his idea anyway.  In surveying the damage Superdad and I had to wonder if we ever wanted him to come over again. But if there were ever a boy in need of forgiveness, love and grace, this is the boy.  I feel thankful that we had the opportunity to show him a little bit of all three, I pray we succeeded.

So this weekend I felt thankful that we do not live in a situation, or a country, or whatever the reason, that we feel it is in our children's best interest to send them thousands of miles away from home to gain an education.  I felt thankful that we have a son with a kind, open heart who has the capacity to befriend a child so completely unlike himself (think Oscar and Felix).  I felt thankful that I am married to a man who can keep his cool even in the face of lapses in judgement resulting in the need to get out tools, spackle and paint.  I felt thankful once again for this little family, our home, and the blessing of abiding together under one roof.