They're Gonna Hate You!

The other day I loaded up a bike I had borrowed more than a year ago to return it to a friend who had loaned it to me.  I had borrowed it to ride Slickrock with some Boy Scouts last summer.  I'm not the most on-the-ball borrower there ever was and long-story short--I didn't return it.  Day after day it sat there and every time I saw it I knew I should return it.  

After long enough, I was embarrassed about returning it, it had been so unreasonably long to have a bike that I wasn't even riding the prospect became even more silly and being ridiculous it sat there longer.  Finally enough was enough and the bike was loaded up.  I took Birdie along for the ride.  

As we drove toward my friend's home Birdie started to ask questions.  Whose bike was this?  How long had I had it?  When I told her she replied "Oh--they're gonna hate you." Very matter-of-factly, she continued "they're never going to let you borrow anything ever again."  It made me laugh.  She didn't try to make me feel better about dropping the ball and kicking it down the street far too long, she just said what I'd feared inside all along.  

They didn't hate me.  I'm sure they would think twice about loaning something to me.  That's okay, they probably should be careful about loaning me things given my recent track record.  I hope I've learned a lesson.  Kids are wonderful.  They don't know how to guard what they say because they haven't learned what not to say.  I can always count on my kids telling me what they really think.  I hope I don't train that completely out of them.