I must have learnt SOMETHING.

As soon as Dad came into the office today, I got into trouble for irresponsibility on my part. Dad reprimanded me with a raised voice and I kept silent for most of it. The door to his office was open and Anthony heard every word of it. I'll bet next door neighbors heard it too.

Surprisingly, it didn't last very long. I apologized at the very beginning and just agreed with him throughout. I deserved that so I wasn't going to fight back.

Anthony was very sweet to approach me a few minutes after the whole episode was over and asked me if I was ok. I was and I told him so. Anthony has gotten the same sort of talk from my Dad before - we're all familiar with it. He told me not to take it to heart and I told him it was fine - I'm used to it.

Dad doesn't raise his voice very often. He isn't a short tempered person. He lets you make mistakes and lets things slide until you've gone too far and then he reminds you of all the mistakes you've made in the past. I realize now that when Dad raises his voice, it's not because he's angry (although he could be) but mostly because he wants me to get the importance of what he's trying to teach me. As soon as that was over, he was calm again and everything was back to normal.

When I got grounded from Hawaii, my parents realized that it was going to be hard for me to explain it to others. My dad told me that I was to tell other people that he kept me here because he needed help at this office. He was willing to be the bad guy since he really doesn't care what other people think.

It's true, Dad did need someone in the office. It just didn't have to be me. I'm at this job not because he needs me, but because I need to learn responsibility.

I haven't come close to mastering that yet, but at the very least, I'm learning to be humble.