Graduation at Ontario Place

I witnessed something so beautiful I had to blog it.  But before I get there, let me describe the daily joys of raising a child with ADHD.  My son had his graduation school trip today to Ontario Place.  I got up early, packed his lunch, and got him ready for his long awaited trip.  Now, my son has a tendency to forget things.  I don't know if it's him, or if it's the ADHD, but this is a normal part of our routine.  As a result, my son has 3 lunch bags.  (He often forgets the bag at school, so I have backups).  So after I go through the loving routine of packing his lunch, and dropping him to school, I come home only to find the lunch bag on the floor by the door.  I wasn't sure if he grabbed an empty lunch box or if he just forgot it.  Either way, it wasn't the first time. I rushed to the school, just as the school buses pulled in, and gave the lunch box to the office secretary who promised to make sure he would get it before getting on the bus.

At the end of the day, I went to pick up my son.  He gets into the car and says "I didn't know you brought my lunch box...they just gave it to me now".  SERIOUSLY????  My main thoughts are 'Oh my God! my baby spent the day hungry'.  I also felt angry because I dropped off the lunch box before the buses left and he still didn't get it on time.

So I asked him "What did you eat all day?"  And then he reminded me about the $10.  Here is the sweet part - As I dropped him to school, I searched in my bag for $10 so he could have some spending money.  I told him to buy ice cream or a treat.  But I only had $20 bills (damned bank machines!).  So, I gave him a $20 bill and asked him to promise to bring home $10, and reminded him that I was trusting him.  (It's not about the money.  I don't believe in children spending money thoughtlessly- that's how they get spoiled).

Anyhow, when I asked what he ate- he said "Ice cream and popcorn, because that's what you said I could spend the money on".  "Sweetie, you had $20.  When you realized you forgot your lunch, you could have spent the rest on pizza or something.  You know I wouldn't have wanted you to be hungry".  "No mommy.  You said a treat like ice cream or a treat at the gift shop, and not to spend more than $10.  I also wanted to buy a present for my sister, and I promised to only spend $10, so I didn't know if I had enough for pizza too.  It's OK, I wasn't hungry. I had a big breakfast".

Awwww :(

What's worse?

• That the secretary failed to give him the lunch?
• That I gave him too strict a rule around the $10, and that he went hungry in the process of trying to respect my rules?
• That he was so sweet he gave up a slice of pizza to buy a present for his sister, making me feel oh-so-guilty?

I was teary eyed when he told me.  Then he handed me two fives and a loonie.  I asked him what the loonie was for, and he said it was the change, and that he wanted to be responsible and show me that I could trust him with money.

I don't know if I actually taught him a good lesson, or if I'm just a shmuck.  Then again, maybe it was me who learned the lesson.  My heart melted today.  Every now and then, this child surprises me.  There are moments where he drives me nuts, and other moments, like the one today, where I look at him and see a child full of promise for the future, ADHD or no ADHD.