The conversation to not start out well. It began with, “Is this Elizabeth? Hi! I’m the Vice Principal. There’s been an incident.”  Not awesome.

Apparently Helicopter had been at lunch and punched someone in the back. At first, my instinct was to be angry at him.  Disappointed. But as the vice principal kept speaking, I realized that trouble wasn’t what he set out to do. His intention, his heart, his essence was defending a friend.  A wrong had been committed, and he wanted to fix it. The Vice Principal, in fact, said she had to tell him he wasn’t Batman.

When I looked closer, I realized Batman is EXACTLY who I want him to be.

And that was the small thing. Instead of reacting as I usually do, or how a mom is supposed to react when she learns her son is in a fight, I reacted by seeing his true heart.

After, I wondered how often I only see the action and not the intent. Clearly hitting someone in the back is never the right answer. Clearly there would have to be a long talk. But I, and the Vice Principal, could see this little heart meant well. He just executed exceptionally poorly.

And maybe looking at the heart is a small thing I could do more often. See people’s hearts rather than just their actions. It’s a good a little one.

I adore you!