October 2025To Be Strong

I asked the little one to say he was sorry for hitting his sister, and he dug in his heels on that stairway, making a face that suggested his annoyance with me exceeded his anger towards his sister. He was willing to give up the movie rather than give in to my demand. I relayed the story to my writing group and we wondered IF the sister had been a silent aggressor and thus HE felt SHE should have apologized! Perhaps he was just standing his ground!

Then, we morphed into a discussion about times when WE forgave (or didn't forgive) someone without an apology. Oh my, the stories that we told ranged from borrowing shirts to taking large sums of money and even tales of adultery.  Some felt that you cannot fully forgive without an apology; while others felt that forgiveness, even without an apology, allows one to move forward. 

We referenced local politicians who apologize and those who move forward without reference to issues. We wondered if some see apologizing as an admission of wrong doing or sign of weakness?  

Gee, I was hoping for a real life writing prompt and what I ended up in was a metaphysical discussion of honesty, strength and weakness in the human spirit.