Tenderhearted Kent

Living in a household of girls, you might think that my only son would be a softie, and in some ways he is, but in most ways he is not. This kid is built like a tank and appears pretty tough. On more than one occasion can have all of his older sisters begging for mercy. Other times he is painfully shy. He loves rough and tumble playing and constantly has his toys at war with each other (literally!). But, tonight he had a very tender side and I just have to record this so that I will remember. We were at Dave's parents house with most of the cousins (there are a lot). It can get a little crazy and often there are tears because someone gets hurt, or someone won't share or take turns...anyway you get the picture. I had just given the kids the 5 minute warning, when Amber runs in from outside crying that Kent hurt her "on purpose". Now Amber can be a bit dramatic and is our resident hypocondriac...so I always approach her crying with caution and try not to jump to conclusions either way (sometimes she REALLY is hurt, but more often it is emotional rather than phsyical). Kent came in behind her, with tears in his eyes and biting his lower lip. Now, on most occasions he is vehemently denying any wrongdoing (especailly if he is really guilty), but tonight was different. I could tell that he thought he had really hurt her and he was truely sorry, but didn't quite know how to process this newfound...I guess that I would call it guilt and remorse. It was one of those moments that I really wanted to comfort Amber, but mostly I wanted to acknowledge that what Kent was feeling was a good thing. This is the point that I wish I had a handbook so that I could say the right thing, because I KNEW it was one of those teaching moments! UGH, the pressure! So because I didn't want to blow it, I just held them both for a few moments and waited until they could both talk. I can't remember (or maybe if I block out exactly what happened, I will be able to believe that I said the right thing and did the right thing!) what I said, but I do know that it was a moment that I wanted Kent to remember and to know that other people and their feelings are important. We don't have a lot of these moments at our house...mostly just me telling my kids that they should be nicer to each other. After tonight I think there is some hope!