What Goes Around Comes Around

“Do you know why I put you in time out?”

The six-year old, adorable, woe-be-gone little boy face in front of me nodded solemnly. I was babysitting him and his brothers for the afternoon.

“It’s very important that you obey me and your Mommy and your teachers.  You know why?  One reason is so that you can be safe – if I tell you not to run toward the road that is so I can protect you.  The other reason is that when you’re older, you need to be able to obey God…”

I stopped abruptly mid-sentence … “Good grief, I sound exactly like my Mother.”

“You need to be able to obey God when God tells you to do something.  And when you disobey God, there are much bigger consequences then a spanking/time out.  So I’m going to give you consequences now, so that you won’t have bigger consequences when you’re older.”

Yes, that came directly from Mom.  Furthermore, she was exactly right.

It just feels a bit odd to be the person saying it.