Wanted Dead or Alive

So, Logan had his first run-in with the law today. Well, the Oak Commons law. Seems he and his little friend, who we'll call "Aaron" (identity protected because he's a minor), were up to no good in our backyard and got caught. Details are sketchy. Truth is relative when there's an angry daddy and three and a half year old as the main subjects, but what I do know is the following:

Said 3.5 year old and his accomplice, "Aaron," were playing in our backyard last night;

• At some point, both boys decided that throwing rocks at the monster in the yard next to ours was a "great" idea;


• Seconds later, rocks were hurled with all the strength two midgets can muster at the supposed monster on the other side of the fence... great digs on a monster's salary, if I do say so myself;


• Not more than three minutes later, Logan's mommy, aka Me, caught the boys doing the above and hollered at them to stop.


• Both boys happily complied, moved on to the water and sand table, enjoyed Dino Nuggets for dinner, Otter Pops (grape and orange, if you're asking) for dessert, and finished the evening playing superheroes in our living room. The rock idea was never revisited.

Cut to this afternoon... our sociophobe recluse of a neighbor, James, the guy who called the City of Gilroy to complain about Matt's "mancave" (another story people on another day), sought out Matt when he got home from work. He approached Matt and told him that he'd seen Logan and the "dark-haired boy" in our backyard throwing rocks yesterday and at the time, had thought nothing of it, because he was so entrenched in his work. Then something hit the window that to his untrained ears sounded like a gunshot (which was not too far-fetched yesterday as there was an alleged gang-shooting at the KFC across the street from our neighborhood). He assessed his health (no gunshot wounds, thank God) and his property, only to discover that something had broken his window. He went out to his backyard, discovered a pile of rocks surrounding the area of the wounded window and concluded that our little felon-in-the-making and his sidekick had broken his window.

Needless to say, Logan spent A LOT of time up in his room while Mommy and Daddy decided what to do. Here's what it came to: Logan was informed that "Aaron" would be coming over with his Daddy and both boys were expected to apologize to Mr. James for breaking his window. They were then to go home and there would be no playdate today or for a few days to come. Logan happily complied and waited, subdued for his friend to come to save him.

We could hear "Aaron" coming from down the street. He was sobbing. He knew he was in trouble and I think the worst part of the whole thing for him was that his mother was not yet home from work but she'd heard about the whole thing and was not happy (to say the least). So, he was terrified, which put the appropriate level of fear into Logan. We trundled up to James' front porch and the boys hemmed and hawed about who would go first. In the end, my little man knocked bravely on the door, and when Mr. James answered, looked him in the eye, bravely proclaimed, "Mr. James, I'm sorry I braked [sic] your window. I will make a better choice next time." My heart swelled to its fullest and I was so very proud of him. His apology was genuine and honorable. Everything I could hope for him to be. When we got home, both Matt and I praised him for 'fessing up and told him that life is full of choices and sometimes we make the wrong ones, but only good things come from telling the truth and apologizing when he did something wrong. He seemed to understand to some extent, and it's a lesson I know we'll have to teach again. Just reminds me that I must also practice what I preach, and that if I want him to grow up to be good and honorable, that I must show him how to do that.

In the meantime, Matt will call our homeowner's insurance provider tomorrow and tell them that while he was mowing our lawn, he hit a rock and it broke our neighbor's window. Aaaah, the irony.