Spirit vs Letter

I know that there could be a whole debate about these two words but because of my intention to place a positive spin on everything I write, I hope to illustrate a simple point.
There were two young boys who had decided to go out on the town one Friday night.  These were good boys who were just out to have a good time.  The boys said that they would be home by midnight.  Their plan was executed perfect so that the boys would arrive home at just before their committed time.  On the way home, the boys encountered a flat tire.  This was pre-cell phone time so the boys knew that they would be late arriving home.  They fixed the flat tire on the side of the darkened highway.  They got home as fast as they could but were still late.  The two boys walked through the front door of the home of one of the boys.  The unhappy father of the one boy was awaiting the arrival of the two boys.  He was not very nice and I believe that he missed a great opportunity to reach out to his son and a friend.
Let me stop the story there. 
I vowed that night that if the experience ever happened to one of my kids that I would react much differently. 
We need to stop, take a deep breath, and then react in the very best way possible. 
I firmly believe that it is important to take into consideration something my own parents stated.  "There are no rules until you break them."  But since kids will still break rules, once in a while, trust still needs to be placed in them and second and third chances will allow them to learn and grow.  My parents were masters at allowing us kids to make many mistakes.  But the real key was that they didn't beat us up over them and then hold our mistakes against us.  Make a mistake, fix the mistake, and then move on with a smile on your face.  I am forever thankful for their wisdom.
Becky and I have given a lot of thought to making sure we trust our children and that we allow them some slack in the situations that they face.  In the eyes of our children, the best laid out plans don't always materialize the way they hope they will. 
They're not perfect...and neither are we!