A magpie – I would be kind to people, animals and birds. It would be a big mistake not to be kind to this bird.
A Mistake I Made – and What I Learned from it. I am trying to troll through my memory bank to see what would fit into this topic for the Ultimate Blog Challenge.
I am finding this somewhat difficult – I am certainly not perfect and I do make mistakes, but essentially not BIG ones, or perhaps I just don’t focus on them. I don’t know that I can come up with one worth discussing in this post/challenge.
One event in my life does come to mind, but I don’t know that it was actually a mistake. It was in fact,an act of kindness that didn’t go well and has made me forever vigilant.
I have always been one who has done “good deeds” – the lasting result of my days as a Girl Guide in my teens. I am often the one that offers help in a variety of circumstances. For some time I was involved in the Random Acts of Kindness Movement. The event that I will go on to talk about is one that impacted on my in many ways, but let me tell the story.
When my son went to primary school he had a little friend who lived close to us – but a busy main road separated us – his family home was on that road, and we were in a little cul-de-sac close as the crow flies, but a longer walk via footpaths. The boy, I shall call him M, was a regular visitor. Sometimes the two little boys would walk home from school together and play for a while before M went on home. Other times a phone call between me and M’s mother would set up a play time.
One day, when M was at home, either he or a sibling accidently set fire to their house and it was badly damaged. No one was injured. I was phoning the mother as the fire took hold, and when I saw the smoke and heard the fire engines and learned what happened I went to meet with them and offered to take one of the boys home with me, for a few days.
And stay he did. Just for a couple of days as I recall, and he was no problem. He fitted in with our family well, so I thought. After a couple of days, his parents took him back, as they had found alternate accommodation while their house was repaired.
A few days later the boy and his father appeared at my door. The father and son looked uncomfortable. The father handed me the things the boy had stolen while in my care. He had taken jewellery and other small items. The father was shattered, the boy was embarrassed and I was stunned.
I still will, and have, had people stay with me. If I learned anything from this “mistake” I am more cautious now. I learned to take a little more care. I can’t be so trusting, but I am not overly suspicious, but I don’t leave valuables about. I won’t make it easy for anyone to take advantage of me.
Sadly, and as if karma, the boy was hit by a car some months later, and became a paraplegic. Strange but true!
