parenting

As a parent I learn things all the time, usually about myself that I wish I didn't know!  But today it wasn't all about me.  Rosie made someone cry today.  I won't go into details, and I won't make excuses.  My first instinct was to figure out what the other girl did to make Rosie retaliate.  Second, I wanted Rosie to fix it.  I wanted her to feel how sad she made someone else so she wouldn't do that again.  So I made her talk to her.  Even though that was uncomfortable for Rosie, it even made her cry, I felt she needed to see what she did was wrong.  Then I was embarrassed.  There is Rosie's friends mom sitting there watching this go on.  I was mortified.  Needless to say we left shortly after.  I just keep thinking how strange it is my first instinct is to blame someone else and try to make excuses for my kids for their behavior.  Just so I won't be embarrassed.  What kind of a person am I?  But I also realized my kids are not perfect, they are allowed to make mistakes, I just need to make sure their environment is right so they learn from it.  She needs to learn how to take the blame, and then move on.  But in all this learning, I hope they never forget I love them.