The Doormat that Roared

What do you do when someone you love and look up to makes a bad error in judgement? It happened to me today. I lost it. A parent I know advised their child to cheat on their schoolwork. I was taken aback by how shocked I was. In my world, everyone has loose ethics from time to time, but a parent, as role model, moral compass, and standard-bearer, has a responsibility to insist on the highest level of moral behaviour possible. Even if it's not achieved, at least the child has some idea of the minimum expectations of right and wrong. Any one of their friends can show them how to cheat. As far as I'm concerned a parent is one of the only people the child can always turn to for guidance about how not to cheat.

I lit into this parent. To quote my sister, I "ripped them a new butt hole." To their credit, once they got over the "what's done can't be undone" excuse, they promised to admit to their child they had made a mistake. So I was gradually able to peel my composure off the ceiling. I know they were chastised. A mouse would have been braver after my tirade.

What surprised me was how strongly I felt and reacted. I have held my tongue a lot lately, telling myself they're not my child. Parent already knows I don't always approve of the way things are done. But I normally keep my distance. This time, though, I couldn't hold it in. Screeching may not have been the most mature way to handle it, but I amazed myself that I actually finally stood my ground. Wow. I'm not always the doormat I thought I was long, long ago.