So, this morning I missed Minyan.
Voluntarily.
I was busy talking to Yehoshua, and then to Shira.
It wasn’t just your regular Dad-Kid chat, but it had to do with violence.
See, ever since this ridiculous invention called summer break started, the kids have needed outlet after outlet.
We had camps, friends, grandparents, toys, activities, - you name it. everything short of a full fledged vacation up north.
But the kids still resorted to whining, kvetching, and hitting.
And then this morning - knives got added to the list.
No - not Jitsu knives, just plain old box cutters.
But they’re still drangerous.
So we talked about death and we talked about injury, and we even spoke about actions and responsibility and repercussions. (that’s when you get hit in the back of the head hard - again)
And then we chose our own punishments.
Shira now goes to her room on her own if she “forgets” and hits a sibling.
Yehoshua also goes to his room, but he might also lose the privilege of walking to school on his own - as that’s a privilege for only big boys.
Let’s hope this lesson works.