Responsibility Bears the Pain

Ah youth! The crispness of the fall air, the leaves turning hues of orange at every turn of the head, the thrill of the souped-up go-cart...

My just about 18-yr old son, C.J., was taking our neighbor's son for a spin around the block. However, the go-cart is in need of a few minor repairs...and a new set of tires. Something with a little tread left on it would do nicely, I think.

Oh...I should mention that he rolled it once in our garden before he later took it for the spin around the block. The one his father has been telling him NOT to do....

Now, to misquote from a favorite ballad, "Then a whine and a jolt and a great roadside roar, and it laid my Curtis James on that cold asphalt floor."

Well, when the skidding stopped and the dust settled and my son and Eli crawled back up the hill, CJ was quite a mess. But he managed to walk back to the house.

I have to say, I'm very proud of him. No, not for crashing the go-cart (which actually doesn't even belong to us - he was fixing it for someone else!). But he showed a great deal of responsibility in relation to the neighbor's son. When he realized they were going to roll, he placed himself between Eli and the pavement. Eli sustained a few bruises; C.J. removed several layers of skin on the palm of his hand and on the backside of his leg. The pants were trashed, and we actually cut them up while he was in them so his sister could doctor his leg while I tended his hand. I was glad that he was concerned enough for Eli that he didn't want him to get hurt. Now... if only he had been thinking more responsibly before leaving the yard, he wouldn't have been hurt. But, I think he learned a valuable, albeit painful, lesson.