"You're going to lose your flower"

I thought I had a good ten to twelve years before I'd hear myself saying this. And I never imagined I'd be saying it to my son.

Liam and Elli both "wished" they could have a flower in their rooms for naptime. So, I took a stem for each from the arrangement in the kitchen and put them in plastic cups high on a dresser in each bedroom.

Elli's flower is untouched--she's still in a crib.

However, Liam's story is quite different. I explained the rules--the flower was only for looking at--no touching, no moving, no messing with it, nothing or he would "lose his flower". With Liam's promises to only look and not touch in tow, I headed for the shower.

I was just about clean when I heard the kitchen trash can lid snap open. I knew exactly what was going on. I leaped like a gazelle that had stepped on burning coals out of the shower, grabbed the first towel my hand hit (I think it was Dan's, thankfully not Greg's...) and my glasses--as my super powers are severely crippled without them. I ran dripping and towel-clad down the hallway and into Liam's room. Before yelling at his failure to keep his word and obey, I took in a thoughtful breath and said "this is your chance to tell the truth--what happened?".

Unfortunately, a bit of a lie ensued. Liam claims he was lying on his bed looking at the flower when it simply tipped over and fell onto the floor.

Thankfully, I read a lot mystery books and realized that the dresser moved about a foot from the wall, flower stem broken in three places, and handful of red flowers clutched behind Liam's back told a very different story.

So Liam lost his flower, his "Ada blue bear" for naptime, my trust, and most sadly a chance to make a right choice. But I'm seeing progress. There's more truth than fabrication in his stories. He's getting there and I'm championing every little bit of progress no matter how disappointed I am of the bad choices, it's the hints of good ones that I'm straining to see and praise to the heavens no matter how many times he lets me down.