But you raise a good point. I shouldn't get past the pattern of it. And for H it has become his whole way of life. That is not something I want to get past. And yeah, I have over and over made the point that it is an excuse, nothing more, that he is in charge of what he chooses to do and not do... it's turned out to be a cheeseless tunnel for me. So now I just reiterate my feelings/boundaries and my requests and leave out the moral of the story. After all, I don't want to be his mom.
But what I need to get past is the nails on chalkboard feeling when I hear the words...because sometimes things really do skip people's minds. The boy who cries wolf no longer gets to have that credibility until he chooses differently, but others do deserve the break now and again.
Things do skip my mind sometimes. I don't use that as an excuse. I really mean it when I say it and I feel bad about it and rectify the situation if I can. But it's not often that it happens. I agree-- saying "sorry" without changing the behavior is pretty meaningless in my book.
