Boring Post for Saturday--Moral Dilemma

 I had my grandson at my house for a full day on a Friday a little while back.  Usually I have him for a few hours on the weekend and that is long enough, but for reasons that would involve along unnecessary explanation, I had him for a full day at my house.  We had fun and it was exhausting.  At Grandma's house, my grandson expects to be entertained with all the fun things.  Since he usually spends a few hours, that is what we are used to doing.  So, that Friday was one thing after another.

One of the jobs that my grandson does for me is push buttons. He starts the microwave. And lately he has added pushing the garage door opener.  The garage door opener is even cooler than my phone because the door makes a loud noise and moves when he pushes the button.  He would like me to give him the garage door opener to carry around, but I won't.

So, that Friday he saw a box of things I am donating.  In that box was an old Zen player.  It played recorded books and music.  I don't use it, I haven't used it in years.  It is a tiny thing, this player.  It is only slightly larger than a lighter.  It fit perfectly into my grandson's pocket. He slipped it in there and didn't even want to show me what he had for fear that I might take it away.  He carried it around through the day.  He pulled it out and checked it every so often.

Then the time came for him to go home. I saw him check the device.  I told him that he needed to leave it at Grandma's house.  I knew that his mom would not want it to come to his house.  I reminded him of that.  He put it on the counter, started to leave, then ran back and put it in his pocket again. Then he took it out and once again put it on the counter.  He did this a couple of times.  I knew that he wanted to have it.  But, I also knew that he couldn't take it home.

Finally, with a resigned look, he placed it on the counter and came out the door with me to go home. It was hard leaving something he liked so much.  It was a tough decision.  I praised him for doing the right thing. I let him push the garage door opener and back to his house we went.