Penance

"Lewis, where did you get that dollar bill?"

"I know you are going to be mad, Mama. This is why I can't tell you."

"If you don't tell me right now, the whole truth, you will be in more trouble than you have ever known in your entire life, Lewis. Where did it come from?"

He looks up into a seemingly black sky, his eyes welling up, and he admits his crime, "I just had to. I took candy and the dollar from off the kitchen counter. I want to buy something with it."

Our six-year-old boy confessed half way into our trip back home that he could not help it, he stole candy and a dollar bill off our friends' kitchen counter. He then thought that if he confessed he would be allowed to keep the money. He was sorely mistaken.

"You could go to jail for stealing, Lewis."

"You mean Juvy?" Did I detect a bit of sarcasm? I knew his father shouldn't have given him the book The Essential Calvin & Hobbs.

"That stands for juvenile detention, where the meanest kids go when they are really naughty. You DO NOT want to ever go there."

"Yeah, they are so mean there Lewis," his little sister can't resist, "they could RUIN you, right, Mom?"

I run with it. "Yep, super awful place to be." I quickly devise a plan. He will write the letter of apology, return the dollar, and visit a police station within the week to hit home the severity of his crime. I just can't help to wonder what this all might lead to. What else can I do to deter another temptation to steal?

Any suggestions from my fellow blippers are welcome.