After school today, Christopher and I went grocery shopping.  Giant is having this contest now where they hide this stuffed duck and you have to look around the store to find him. If you do, you get a prize.

The store wasn’t that busy so I told him he could go a an aisle or two ahead of me to look for it as long as he didn’t go too far and as long as he came back quickly. Off he ran, super excited for a bit of independence.

He was gone for about three minutes when I felt he had been gone too long, so I went looking for him. He truly was only two aisles away so he was safe.  He did not see me approaching. Where did I find him? He was by the bakery with his little hands inside one of the cases eating the candy shamrocks off of one of the cookies. He finished before I got to him so he didn’t realize I had seen him.

He comes strolling back to the cart with green dye all around his little mouth. He’s talking away to me about finding Lucky Duck. I asked him, “What’s that green stuff all over your mouth.” The look on his face was truly a Kodak moment. He tried to play it off though and said, “I don’t know.” But he couldn’t look me in the eye. I asked him, “Were you eating something?” Looking down at the floor he said, “Yes, but don’t be mad.” He confessed.

I stood there for a moment debating what I should do. I decided he needed to tell the people in the bakery that he ate some cookie without asking. I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing or not but I also want my boy to understand he can’t just help himself to whatever he likes in the store. He cried. I picked him up and told him I loved him but that he took something and he needed to admit it. Again, my heart wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing but I followed through with it.

He cried a little bit and hid his head in my neck, begging me not to make him tell. I told him it would be alright but that he needed to do this.  We walk back to the bakery and the woman behind the counter comes over to us. I make Christopher tell her what he did and what does she say? “That’s ok, honey, you help yourself.”

Are you kidding me? Then he found the damn duck and got a prize! So much for trying to teach him a lesson.