Katie stood beside me while I took the phone call and could hear portions of what was said. I said, Katie --- "I have some news can you please sit down so we can talk". I also called Matt into the room because I was pretty sure we had a bit of a crisis on our hands. Sure enough, she LOST it when we told her. Tears were streaming down her face, and she went into the bathroom to wash her face while the tears continued.
While she was in the bathroom Matt and I talked about what we could do -- including some alternatives. We finally got her to come out of the bathroom and talk to us. And then the Birthday Redo began.
We discussed 3 options with her: 1) Stay at the clubhouse, but without the pool. We could do games and maybe rent a bouncy house (if available on short notice). 2) Switch the location to UpTown Alley -- a fancy bowling
spot with arcade included. 3) Switch the location to Pocohontas State Park's outdoor water park.
Second life lesson: We were guessing that the vandalism at the pool was likely a group of teenagers. Earlier in the summer a group had poured bubble soap into our neighborhood fountain and the bubble overflow was EVERYWHERE. So, we had a discussion of pranks that cause no one harm, versus those that have serious consequences. In this case, it will required between $5,000 and $10,000 to fix our pool, not to mention families cannot attend until its repaired. She's not so far from the teenage years....and somehow, I want her to know the difference between harmless and harmful pranks.
Third life lesson: Forgive the person who did the vandalism. Whatever happened, I'm pretty sure the person, or people, who did the damage are likely now regretting their actions. Video cameras are posted all around our neighborhood pool and I'm almost certain the culprits are caught. We told Katie they weren't thinking about her pool party at the time they threw the glass over. They were likely dared by a friend --- or just doing something they shouldn't. Either way, we've all done something we shouldn't at one point in time in life or another. Forgive them, and move on.
Included in this post are some pictures from the day ---- the good part, not the tears at the beginning. Ha! I'm so proud of our sweet Katie Bug. She showed some big girl maturity yesterday --- and an ability to roll with unforeseen circumstances, even when it was NOT what she wanted.