“I'M BETTER THAN THAT”
Ron, a nine-year-old boy, was being raised by his mother who didn't know how to cope with his uncontrollable temper. She knew he was angry that his father had abandoned him and she tried professional counseling, but nothing seemed to work. So she sent Ron to spend the summer on his grandparents' farm. When he came home, he was a changed boy and his mom asked him what happened.
Ron told her that every time he got mad or said anything unkind, Grandpa Hal made him go outside and hammer a big two-inch nail into a two-by-four. It was really hard and he wasn't allowed back until the nail was all the way in. After about twenty trips to the shed he decided it was easier to control his temper than hammer in those nails.
"So," his mom said, "You hated the consequence so much you just changed?"
"Well," he answered, "that was part of it. After I had hit in all these nails and was behaving pretty good, Grandma Grace took me outside and made me pull out all the nails. That was just as hard, but when I was done she gave me this note that I've been carrying around."
The note said:
"Pulling out nails is like saying you're sorry but remember the holes you left in the board. You can't fix it by being sorry but you can stop making new holes. Remember, every time you do something mean and nasty you are making a hole somewhere, in someone. That's what your Dad did to you; please don't do that to anyone else. You are better than that."
"You know what, mom?" Ron said. "Grandma's right. I am better than that."
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