Sorry

The very idea of apology is that it means respect between two parties. The phrase "I am sorry" opens the window to restore broken relationships. Everything before and everything after might as well not have mattered at all.

It seems to me that apologies have become increasingly rare. Over one month after an unfortunate story of a young doctor, we haven't heard the word sorry. I won't describe the story in detail here, because even in print it's too distressing.

I really don't want the story ruin my day, and quickly forgot it after I went home today. It's a lot happier to see my daughter playing with her best friend after work. The two of them had already played outdoors for an hour, with all kinds of games they come up with by themselves, and was running around indoors when I met them. I say I met them because I didn't really joined them. As parents, I was told, we should hover less because kids gain more when we do less.

I talked with the mum of my daughter's friend, when our children were within eyesight. It's not unusual to see and hear some arguments in the playroom: an unsupervised boy wielding a gun and blocking the way, another stroppy boy in green sweatshirt calling kids by nickname, other children joining in the bullying. As we chatted, we kept an eye on our children but tried not to go near. Kids would learn much more about the world when they make up, negotiate, and derive their own rules.

I stepped in at the end, when a boy said dirty words about girls' underwear.

I didn't think it solved the problem. Anyway, my daughter was fed up with those naughty boys and asked to leave. When she and her friend were putting on shoes, to my surprise, a boy came up and spoke to my daughter with a bow. "I'm sorry. I was mean to you."

I didn't expect to hear an apology today. Now I have.