Tom Sawyer
Jonathan is going to be painting a fence. Helping to rebuild it, maybe, and then painting it, someday later this spring or early this summer. It's a white, picket fence that lines the path to our front door. The pickets were originally built by my husband, and it's due for some repair. A job that will just about work off in labor the garage window that Jono broke with a baseball and the cell phone that was crushed when it fell out of Jono's shorts."I'm having a nightmare day," he said, when he called me from the neighborhood yard, where he was playing in a giant game of Capture the Flag. "My phone fell out of my pocket. The screen is shattered." His voice was shaky.
We had swept up the glass in the garage just that morning after a rogue baseball had crashed through.
"Nightmare for sure," I agreed. I had answered his call in my car. I was just about to take a walk in the park. I put my head back on the headrest and felt the sun shining on my face. It was a gorgeous day. Why all the broken glass???
I could hear that he was trying to control his emotions. The phone had been a big gift., and Jono is a responsible kid. He doesn't typically break things, or even lose or misplace things. Two giant mistakes in one day? I think we were both treading lightly.
"What do we do?" he said.
"I'm not sure," I answered honestly. "Put your phone away, and we'll talk about it when you get home."
I knew this wasn't the answer he wanted. He wanted resolution, now, so that he could put his mind at ease. But I had absolutely nothing to tell him.
"Am I in trouble?"
"Did you do it on purpose?" I asked him
"No. It fell out of my pocket when I was running."
"Then you aren't in trouble. But we might have to figure this one out together."
I thought about it while I walked around the lake. The phone should have been in its case. Better, the phone should have been tucked in his sweatshirt and nowhere near the running boys (and girls.) And as far as the broken window? Both Adam and I had come quickly to the conclusion that for as many years as Jono has played baseball, it's a wonder that this hadn't happened sooner. Not that we were happy about it, but accidents happen. I knew my conscience-heavy son was, at this very moment, crazy with worry about our reactions and his responsibilities, and that was okay. I think it's okay to bear some worry and some weight.
I returned from my walk, and Adam and Jono returned, all news of broken cell phones had been. . . well. . . broken.
"This is the worst day of my life," said our son.
"Oh, I hope so," I said.
"Me too," said Adam.
"WHAT???" Jono could not understand our reaction.
"It's not a death, Jono," said Adam. "It's not a tragedy or an illness or even a terrible accident. It's a cell phone. And a window. Things. We're not happy that it happened, but it's fixable. We'll figure it out, and you'll be responsible for big piece of this, but your mom and I are not going to try to take every cent you have. Relax. It's okay."
Then followed a couple of days of teenage angst, waiting for the cell phone appointment (made painstakingly by the teenager himself) to find out the cost of repair or replacing the phone. (Cost: less than anticipated, more than was currently in his wallet
) We are currently awaiting a visit from the Glass Doctor ("Call the Glass Doctor, we'll fix your panes. . . ") to give us an estimate on "fixing the odd shaped window in the garage." By tonight, we'll have a handle on the total damages, but between you and me, it's not looking too bad. Jono shelled out the cold, hard cash for a new, durable case for the replacement phone (repair was not an option.) We'll decide on a fair amount of money he can contribute toward the total now, and leave him a small, eighth-grade cash-cushion.And that's where the fence comes in. A couple of days building and painting the fence in our front yard—I'm not sure if he knows about it yet, our modern day Tom Sawyer. Adam will tell him what he will earn for the job, and that's how Jono can pay what he owes. And in the end, there will be a pretty, white fence standing in the place where he worked in the sunshine with his dad. Jono can mend a broken fence, pay a debt for some broken glass, and someday he will see that broken things don't compare with broken hearts.
But please, God, let that day be far, far away. 
This one gave me a little chill and filled my eyes. That's what we want for our children, isn't it? Learning their lessons softly and gently- with things that can't be mended easily perhaps never happening to them...we can only pray it to be so!
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Like cousin, like cousin...we found that a 5-year old Samsung that was originally a free phone makes for a viable, though not very glamorous, replacement for the one left in the pocket while streaking up and down the street in roller blades.
There are grumblings about repairing his broken phone, though, and I can't blame him. I like the idea of assigning domestic jobs to work it off. You must come from a family blessed with wisdom...
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absolutely lovely.
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