This morning I was standing at my kitchen window and it was around 6:30 and I saw the Overton County school bus going down our road and it wasn’t even daylight yet.

I instantly thought of our children and how I made them catch that bus at that time of morning and I thought, Wow! that was so early!

I was a Mom that loved and does love my children dearly but I am also a believer in teaching them how to stand on their own two feet so basically I was not much of a coddler.

I am not a real huggy, touchy, feely Mom and sometimes the twins criticize me for that but I think they have finally got used to me.

I remember when Danny was in 3rd grade and each student was supposed to make these little wooden cars and they were going to have a racing contest with them on a certain day and the winner would get a blue ribbon. Danny was all excited about it and we went down to Granny Poston’s house that weekend and Danny’s aunt Martha still had her wooden car from 3rd grade and it was on a shelf in the den. Martha told Danny that he could borrow her car to use as a model to go by in making his if he wanted to. I immediately saw the wheels turning in his little head so on the way home I explained to him that Martha’s car was just to be a model to go by and that he could not enter her car because that would be cheating. He said ok.

Several weeks passed and the car derby had been held that day and Danny came home with the blue ribbon and was bursting in the door to tell me all about it and show me his blue ribbon. I was proud and happy for him and told him so.

I don’t know if his conscience got to bothering him or what but before the night was over his countenance had completely changed and I began to suspect that he had cheated and entered Martha’s car. After supper was over I confronted him with my suspicions and he ended up telling me that he had indeed entered his aunt’s car. I sent him to his room to wait while I decided what his punishment would be.

I let him stew in that bedroom for a while and then I called him out and told him that we were going to walk into school early the next morning and before class started he was going to stand in front of everyone and tell them what he had done and give the blue ribbon back. Oh, how he cried at my words…. he begged me to spank him instead.

The next morning I kept my word and walked in to school with him and went to his classroom. I called the teacher out into the hall and explained what was going on and we waited. All the class finally arrived and were seated at their desks and then the teacher called him in from the hallway…. I stood outside the door and watched. My heart broke for him and after he lay the ribbon on the teacher’s desk he went to his desk and sat down and the teacher came to the hall to speak to me; she said Mrs. Poston I am not sure I could have done that. As I left there that morning I cried all the way to work. When I got to work my co-workers shamed me and told me how mean I was.

A few weeks after that Danny came to me while I was cooking supper and he handed me a book and asked me to read this certain story in it. The story was in the pioneer days and basically a boy had stolen a piece of candy from the general store and the Mom in the story had made him go back to the store and confess what he had done and pay for that candy. I looked up from reading the story with tears in my eyes and Danny was smiling and had a twinkle in his eyes…. I said I guess I am not the only mean Mom and he smiled and said yes.

I was rough on our kids and made them do chores, work through sicknesses, and be accountable for their actions. They weren’t too fond of me a lot of the time but I am so proud of them today and the fine people that they are.

The worst thing you can do for your kids is to do everything for them.

I watched that big yellow bus in the morning light this morning and I had compassion in my heart for my kids as I gave them a rough road to travel and I am not so sure that I could be that firm now that I am older and my drill sergeant ways have softened a lot but I am sure proud of them!