It’s About Time

Amanda encountered disappointment tonight. We’re supposed to go for IKEA’s soft cone ice cream.  With eager anticipation, we queue up accordingly only to realize that we arrived too late as the ice cream machine has shut down for the day.  Amanda was disappointed with the news for sure.  Thankfully she didn’t cry but her countenance reveals pure disappointment.  

I think every parent hates to see his or he child encountering disappointment.  Because it is so unpleasant and we think they don’t know how to handle it. It’s like their world collapsed.  Yet realistically speaking we need to work at helping them process disappointment.  Things don’t always work out the way we planned.  Things don’t fall in line when we think they should. So how do we deal with it? 

I didn’t have any alternative available given the time of the day when this disappointment occurred.  Alternative is what I would give as sometimes we do have to learn to be flexible in life.  However I don’t have any alternative to offer this time.  Sometimes life’s disappointment comes and we just have to deal with it minus alternative. It’s a valley we must walk through, like it or not.  Likewise, helping Amanda deal with it by reasoning with her appears the only way about it.  Does that means she’ll be a happy camper immediately? No, it does mean she learns to accept and move on that day – ice cream simply wasn’t available through no fault of anybody.  Life is bigger than ice cream.  Prayerfully she’ll grow to be a better person.