Doing what's right vs what feels good

I'm not a super ambitious person. I don't have really lofty aspirations or anything like that. When I was a girl, I wanted to be a good wife and mother. I was gonna stay home and bake cookies for my husband and sons. The best laid plans go awry sometimes, don't they? I did get married and have children, but since I work outside the home, my plans for being a good wife and mother went out the window. I had girls, not boys. Don't get me wrong, I adore them, they've probably taught me more than boys ever would have. The real reason I wanted boys was because I wouldn't have had hair to comb. If anyone tells you different, they're sorely mistaken - combing and plaiting kinky hair is a CHORE. I might have baked cookies once. I have not yet mastered the art of getting dinner on the table 5 minutes after I walk in the door, which is 10 mins after everyone has fainted from hunger.

That being said, I'd like to think I'm raising my girls right. People are often telling me how lovely and well-mannered they are. There's no denying that warms the cockles of my heart. But yesterday, I had reason to wish they weren't quite so polite. My youngest daughter tells me that a boy slapped her in the face at school, supposedly because she told him not to cut in front of her in the line. I haven't heard the other side of the story yet, so that may or may not be the case. Either way, she cried and she told the teacher on duty what happened.

Now, I sure know that I wanted to tell my daughter that if this boy interfered with her again, to drop him like a bad habit and kick the stuffing out of him. You know, teach him to be decent if his parents wouldn't. But in this day and age, can we do that as parents? When I was a kid, parents would say "if he hits you again, hit him back". If it came to that, you did, and that was typically the end of it. Or, the two sets of parents would meet, discuss, and make the kids shake hands, next thing you know they're best friends. These days, based on all we hear in the news, parents refuse to teach their children about consequences. The "victim" fights back, next thing you know, the victim is being sued and the aggressor is awarded ridiculous amounts of money. Or worse, someone ends up dead, as was the case in this school yard fight.

What I ended up doing was writing a letter to the school to find out what happened, and make sure they knew that I was aware... just in case it happens again. The response was that the child would face consequences - I'd sure like to know what they are. And yes, I know that I'm probably over-reacting and being over dramatic, as we are currently being bombarded with stories of Chris Brown allegedly assaulting a woman. But really, just in case this child is witnessing violence against women somewhere, shouldn't we do our best to correct the behavior now? I mean, I'm all for turning the other cheek, but when I've just been slapped in the first one, the other is turning because I'm just about to give a round house kick to the head. I digress. Thoughts?