As parents one of our main jobs is to guide our kids along the path of choosing what is right and wrong. Naturally kids, being kids, and well, human, don’t always get it right. So when two teens recently acknowledged their mistakes, offered an apology, and sought to remedy the situation, we could only stand back and admire them; and perhaps also learn a thing or two ourselves.
Last week Mel Flesher, from Vancouver, posted a message on Facebook looking for help in finding her boyfriend’s son’s mini Yamaha motorbike, stolen from her apartment complex. Amazingly, the teenage thieves who took the bike saw her post and returned it with a few added extras. However, most impressively, they also added a heartfelt note of apology — with a little advice to prevent this sort of theft happening again — which read:
“Well we should start by saying sorry for stealing your son’s bike. Although not an excuse, me and my friend figured it would belong to some teenager who had outgrown it. When we read your Facebook post we immediately knew we had to take it back to him. We’ve bought him a new, more secure lock as the previous one was already broken. The keys are in with the bike key. For the future, take the key inside with you. I know we aren’t really in a place to give advice, but the heartbreak your son must have felt upon discovering his bike missing should never be relived. We have filled the tank and topped up the oil for him. Again, we really are sorry for putting him through this. We wish you two the best in his journeys riding, and we hope you both can find it in your hearts to forgive us. Ride on, little man. You deserve it!”
While the teens were filled with remorse, they seemed to genuinely appreciate the suffering their actions may have caused, making their repentance all the more sincere. In return Flesher posted another message saying:
“We are very happy and the kids will be EXTREMELY happy to hear the news! Thank you for doing the right thing!!! You sound like good kids!! We forgive you and hope this taught you a lesson. We will definitely keep the keys with us you are very right about that! We drove around for hours last night talking to all kinds of people about the bike. Thank you for showing kindness and doing the right thing! Thank you Mission neighbors and our friends for sharing and helping us get the kids’ bike back!!!”
And she is right, they do seem like good kids, and her forgiveness can only encourage them to learn from their mistakes. As for us adults; these teens have shown us the perfect recipe for a meaningful apology.
And today we celebrate...