(c) October 2011, Kathy Fannon; That's my baby - first person on the 45-yard line!
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
Saturday night my husband and I went to our son’s last-ever
marching band invitational. It’s hard to believe after 8 years we are at the
end of watching our two children march and put on some of the most amazing shows we’ve ever seen.
With only two competitions left (state and national) we are
eating up every minute of it while we can.
But honestly, I won’t miss sitting outside on cold Saturday
nights in the fall!
Thankfully, it’s been a fairly mild season and we don’t have
too much to complain about. But Saturday’s temps reached low to mid-40s by the
time the awards ceremony was over at 9:45pm.
While sitting in the stands at the football field we huddled
under our blankets with 2 pair of socks, winter coats, gloves, a hat and I had a
scarf.
There was a family from another school sitting behind us. I
got a kick out of the conversation that went on between the dad and his 14-year-old son all night. Son did not want to be there.
“I’m not staying past 7:30.”
“Yes we are.”
Later, “I’m not staying past 8:30.”
“Yes we are.”
This went on all evening. The kid was not interested in
watching the bands and certainly didn’t care about the awards ceremony. Again,
he was begging to leave before awards. Of course, us parents aren’t about to do
that!
About 8:15 his younger sister went to concessions, but Son
didn’t want to go with her. A few minutes later I heard Son demanding five
dollars from his dad. Dad said no.
Son insisted, “Yes.”
Dad wasn’t about to hand over cash to a demanding young man
with an attitude. Dad calmly stated that he didn’t like the attitude and wasn’t
about to help him out.
About 10 minutes later (after more pleas for cash) Mom got
tired of the attitude and told Son she’d give him $1.50 for hot chocolate.
“What if I don’t want hot chocolate?”
“Then you get no money.”
Hah! I was loving it! I’ve had those kinds of conversations
with my own children and it usually didn’t go well for them either.
Finally the parents caved and about the time they were
fishing for money the announcer said concessions were closed.
Son was ticked off.
Then Son was cold. Dad offered to share his blanket but Son
refused; he just wanted to leave.
As my son would
say, “Sucks to be you.”
I felt quite entertained by the end of the night and
sympathized with the parents.
But I also thought about how our pride can get the best of
all of us at some time or another.
Here are five things Son’s pride and attitude did for him
Saturday night:
- Made Him Hungry: He was hungry because he didn’t want to go to the concession stand with his sister. He was too cool to be seen with her. When he realized what he had done to himself it was too late. He was the one who was hungry, not his sister. He only punished himself.
- Made Him Crabby: He was crabby and unpleasant to live with. No matter how his dad tried to help him, he refused it. It became a vicious circle for the young man.
- It Irritated Those Around Him: While I found it funny because I’ve lived it, others around may not have been so forgiving of his constant whining all night. And I’m quite sure his parents were irritated, although I give them a TON of credit for keeping their cool. I never once heard either of them raise their voice; they stayed calm and matter-of-fact with him.
- It Make Him Cold: Sharing a blanket would’ve made him happier because he would’ve been warmer.
- It Made the Time Go Slow: Nothing is worse than wanting to leave and can’t. And we were out there for more than 3 ½ hours. That’s a long time to be cold, hungry and want to leave!
Proverbs 29:23 “A man’s’ pride will bring him low, but a
humble spirit will obtain honor.” (NASB)
Are you demanding money and refusing blankets? In what areas
might you need to lay down your pride and attitude so you can be fed and get
warm? Share in the comments if you care to.
What other ways might
pride and attitude hurt us?
