I don’t often write on here despite the fact I should. But yesterday I experienced what I think may have been the single most proud moment I have ever had with Dylan. Here’s a story about how he showed how much he truly loves his little sister Megan.
A couple of months ago, me and Tamara starting using gem jars to reward the kids. They both got a jar, and each time they did something good around the house, they got a gem. This could be things like putting their dishes away without being asked, keeping their room clean, making their bed, and just general other things around the house. Each gem is worth either 25 cents or 15 minutes of electronics time. They could then cash these in on the weekend for money for themselves to spend as they want, or for time on the iPad and Wii U. The system has been working really well.
A couple of weeks ago, Megan wanted to buy a special pack of Pokemon cards from Walmart but she didn’t have enough money. Long story short, I bought them for her and she paid me what she had and owed me the difference. As she’s been earning more gems, she’s been paying off her debt with me. She was down to 24 gems ($6) which she owed me.
During a ride in the car, she said she was sure that the Easter bunny was going to bring her Shopkins for Easter. Now, knowing he wasn’t, I asked her how sure she was that he’d be bringing them. She was sure and I asked her if she wanted to make a bet on this. I bet her $2 or 8 gems that there would be no Shopkins on Easter. Now knowing the EB as well as I do, I knew that if she took the bet, she’d be out that money but I thought it would be a good way to teach her about what can happen when you bet on things. After a few minutes of taking the bet, she decided she wanted to change her mind and make it Shopkins OR Pokemon. I did not agree to it. I said a bet is a bet but I would give her a chance to back out if she wanted to. She did, and cancelled the bet.
Later that day, she asked if I would bet her $1 that the EB would bring Shopkins or Pokemon. For that bet, I told her I would take it, but it had to be for $6 / 24 gems. I picked this amount on purpose because that was her balance that she owed me. I told her if she won, the balance would be paid and she could start earning money again. But if she lost, she’d double what she owes me. She thought long and hard about it but then took the bet. What she didn’t know was that the EB had got her Pokemon cards for Easter so she was going to win. But she didn’t know that yet as Easter hadn’t come.
That evening, she stressed over this bet. She kept talking about it and even had a hard time sleeping that night because she was so stressed about whether or not she was going to owe me money. It wasn’t my intention to stress her out, and I knew she’d win, but it was something to see.
Sometime after 6am, she got and all I heard was “Did I win?” which told me she was still thinking about the bet.
Her and Dylan searched the house for eggs that the EB had left her and eventually me and Tamara got up. The Pokemon cards the EB had left her were hidden near the TV with some other eggs and they hadn’t found them yet. So from her perspective, she’d lost the bet but she wasn’t upset because she knew the EB hid stuff all over the house so she kept looking.
Then I saw the most amazing thing happen between a brother and a sister.
Dylan knew how worried and stressed Megan was about the bet, so when Megan wasn’t looking, he took one of his own Pokemon cards and put it on the table in her spot with her Easter stuff from the EB. He then yelled to Megan and told her he had found a card in her spot and that the EB must have left it for her. She was excited that she had won the bet and I had to turn my head because I started crying.
Here’s an 8 year old boy who knows his sister is stressed and upset over something and he didn’t even think twice about doing something like that for her. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.
Later that day, I took him aside and told him how proud I was of him and even then the tears started to come.
When I see my kids doing things like this, it fills my heart with more joy than I can express and tells me that me and Tamara must be doing something right.
