Own up to your mistakes

Dear Kids,

Today, I made a mistake. A pretty big one, that caused a lot of people -two in particular- a lot of disappointment and anger. Very rightfully so on their part. It was my carelessness that caused me to forget that today was your daddy's cousin's wedding...and I was supposed to be their photographer. We live almost 2 hours away, so by the time I was contacted about it, it was too late. There's nothing I can do to make for missing that special, very important day. I sure will try, and have poured my heart out in an apology, but as you can imagine they are pretty upset. 

This is a big lesson that I hope, over time, I can instill in you. By my actions and by my guidance. You are going to make mistakes. You will mess up, sometimes pretty badly. You will make poor choices that will have bad consequences.

This is what I want you to know.

It is ok.

You can make mistakes and bad choices. That's part of growing up and learning how you want to be and who you want to be known as. The most important thing to know about making these mistakes, is that it is ok and you can own up to it. You can come to daddy and me and tell us what happened, no matter what it is that you have done. We will do our best to guide you on how to fix it.

That is another important thing to know.

Own up to your mistakes!

Don't lie. Don't make excuses to get yourself out of the hole, because that will only dig you further down. There is so much strength and character in admitting that you did something wrong. I will tell you that it is hard. When I was told that I had forgotten the wedding, all I wanted to do was crawl under a rock and cry and wait for it to go away. But I knew that I had to deal with it. I had to acknowledge that I had done something bad and try my best to make it right. They will probably be upset with me for a while, but we are family. They'll come around, and I feel that little bit better knowing that I faced my mistake head on, instead of lying or avoiding the truth.

I love you, Landon, Nevaeh and Savannah!

Mommy