Fine Lines

I think one of the hardest parts of being a parent (for me anyways) are the fine lines. Continually situations arise where you can make choices on your child rearing and somewhere amongst that choice is a fine line... but the hard part is finding it. It is like some absurd game of Where's Waldo.

Coming to mind as far as lines go is "telling". Joseph got hurt the other day and he didn't say anything to Big Daddy or myself until bed time when we saw the wound and I had to clean it out. When I inquired what had happened he told me and it sounded fairly innocent. But his concern was that he was hurt by his friend. Well, he says he didn't want to tell us he was hurt because he didn't want his friend to get into trouble. Trouble or not... if your hurt I need to know. But, the fine line is where does it end on what I need to know? I have found myself on more than one occasion when Joseph has come to tell me something that I feel he is being a tattle-tale. But how do you explain the difference in five year old terms? Or even moreso, when incedents occur to what degree is up to them to work it out themselves. Is a plain old... you see blood, you tell Mom...no blood, keep trucking? Fine line.

I think it is all these stresses of wanting to raise my boys to be the best possible people they can be which is causing me to notice each day more fine lines on my face. Or is that just "character"?