Thought of the Day 08.18.09

When my wife and I were getting gas the other day, we both noticed a mother and son eating hotdogs on the trunk of their fairly old car. As we watched in stunned disbelief, they first threw their ketchup packets on the ground and then also the hard plastic container the hot dogs had come in, despite being only two feet from the trash can. We were both horrified, but we agreed that simply confronting a mother in front of her child might be counterproductive.

Instead, I drove to where they were, got out, walked over to pick up their trash right in front of them, and placed it in the garbage can myself without saying a word. Surprisingly, the boy said, “Thank you,” to me, and I replied, “You’re welcome.” Obviously, my strategy was to make them think about their behavior without inviting an argument. But after I was back in the car, I realized my own error.

Instead of avoiding eye contact, I should have smiled and been kind as I cleaned up their trash. That would have been truly loving correction rather than prideful resentment. Apparently, we all have areas where we can improve.