Mistakes Do Happen

BY LURA ROTI

What is the worst mistake you ever made? I recently made a mistake. It may not be the worst mistake I ever made, but it was the most painful.

The reason? Once the mistake was discovered, it took about a week and a half to fully correct. And the story was about an important topic. A topic which individuals cared enough about that they took the time to share their thoughts and experiences with me.

Mistakes do happen. And as a journalist, I take them quite seriously. This is the reason nearly every piece I write, I run by sources to ensure all the information is correct. For this same reason, when a mistake does make it to print, I work to figure out how it happened; to prevent a

similar mistake in the future. Typically, these measures work. When they don’t? Fortunately, there is the option of issuing a correction.

Issuing a correction is a simple, yet humbling act. Often, it consists of a brief sentence correcting a factual or typographical error. They don’t include excuses. Just the facts. In a way, the perfect apology.

Interesting thing about mistakes, we’ve all made them. And hopefully, learned from them. In fact, mistakes may be among our best teachers.

Even the miniscule ones.

I was reminded of this during a recent camping trip to Wyoming’s Big Horn mountain range. As I was drinking my morning coffee on the banks of Ten Sleep Creek, I recalled the college summer I spent maintaining trails in Idaho’s Sawtooth mountain range, as a member of a Forest Service trail crew. It was an amazing experience.

Our crew would pack up everything we needed for the week in backpacks,

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and spend the work week camping and maintaining mountain trails. We began our early mornings with a hot cup of coffee while our crew leader went over the day’s plan.

To help lighten the load we each carried, each would take turns packing the coffee and its pot.

When my week rolled around, I accidentally bought DECAF. Within a

day, everyone on our small crew of six was fighting the effects of caffeine withdrawal – headaches and overall grumpy demeanor. To say that I was the least popular member of the crew that week would be

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an understatement. Twenty years later, I continue to spend an extra second when I pick up (or online order) coffee beans to ensure they are caffeinated!

We’re never too old to learn…or too young.

There’s a parenting philosophy out there that encourages parents to let their young children make mistakes and learn from the consequences.

As I interpret the philosophy, the concept is, if a child forgets their soccer cleats and doesn’t get to practice with the team as a 6-year-old, they are more likely to remember their math homework as a college student. Or if a third grader misses out on a playdate because she lied about cleaning her room, she may be less likely to speed as a 16-year-old.

My husband, Shon and I took the class when our fourth-grade daughter, Parker was a 9-month-old. She was perfect. We didn’t think we needed parenting classes. We also didn’t think we needed a babysitter. So, we brought our adorable, crawling, squirming, squeaking baby girl with us to class. The instructor said as long as she didn’t cause a distraction, it was fine with him. Well, she didn’t cause a distraction because I spent the entire class in the hallway with her.

The next week, we hired a sitter. The philosophy works on adults too!

Now that she’s nearly 10, I’m sure if my parenting techniques were graded, my report card would have more Cs and Ds than A-pluses. However, when I put the philosophy into action and let her fail. Let her learn from her mistakes and face consequences, there’s a little less arguing and a lot more peace in the household.

The other day, her actions inconvenienced another student. You see, Parker is fortunate enough to attend Sonia Sotomayor, Sioux Falls’ public, Spanish Immersion school. Because remote schooling cut out about six weeks of daily immersion from her schedule, some high school immersion students offered to provide weekly Zoom conversation opportunities for groups of elementary students.

Parker was initially excited about this opportunity. But when logging in meant putting down her Trixie Belden mystery novel, she decided not to participate. Long story short, as part of her consequence, I asked her to write an apology note. About an hour of timeout later, she did. And gave me one too! The rest of the day it was as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. We’ll see how things go when next week’s Zoom conversation rolls around.

Form + Fashion = Function August 7th & 8th Events Collaborations of Interior + Fashion with industry icons Nate Berkus and Alexa Hampton serve as the inspiration this year’s Form + Fashion Meets Function Portfolio showcase at the Institute of Design. Open House Friday, August 7th 5-7pm, and 1-3pm on Saturday, August 8th. For more info call: (605) 275-9728, check our website: www.idtsd.org or “Like us” on FACEBOOK.

Need a Quick Baby Gift?! Patterns, yarn, needles, and classes! Available at Athena Fibers, 3915 S. Hawthorne, (605) 271-0741, www.athenafibers.com. Michael Kors Love Michael Kors but not the price? Shop Style Encore for a large selection of name brand casual & business apparel, footwear & accessories for women. 3812 S. Western Avenue. (605) 275-5592.

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A Sip of the Country Wilde Prairie Winery — delicious fun wines all produced from South Dakota grown fruit and honey. Visit our website for hours and summer wine happenings. www.wildeprairiewinery.com

Perfect Gifts Perfect gifts for the college student returning to school this fall! Shop Stacey’s for unique, oneof-a-kind items! Stacey’s Vintage Art Boutique. 27102 Albers Avenue. (605) 213-0045.

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Holistic Stones The Christmas Haus. 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN. (507) 283-2122.

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MN. (507) 283-4027.

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Delicious! Salty watermelon, peanut butter, and peach pecan whiskeys — and a side of Old Smoky Tennessee Moonshine cherries. What a combo! Try one today! Available at Blue Mound Liquor. 319 W. Main Street, Luverne, MN. (507) 449-5052.

Shopping Rediscovered! Shop the amazing and unique locally-owned businesses Luverne has to offer. www.luvernechamber.com

Back To School Vehicle Check-Up Stop by Papik Motors Luverne, MN or Rock Rapids, IA location and get your back-toschool vehicle check up today! www.papik.com

Step Back in Style Send your little ones back to school in style. Shop Stride Rite for all of your back-to-school needs! Thank you for shopping local! Stride Rite. 2425 S. Shirley Avenue. (605) 362-7728.

Wardrobe of Your Dreams Come shop our award winning storefront for all your fashion needs! We’ve got everything to complete the capsule wardrobe you’ve been dreaming of! Beautique. 513 N. Splitrock Blvd, Brandon, SD. (605) 582-2882.

Now Scheduling Family Portrait Sessions We are still scheduling portrait sessions at Julie Prairie Photography! High School Senior, Family or Commercial sessions have limited availability. Don’t let the most beautiful time of the year pass you by. Mention Etc for Her when booking to receive a free gift with your portrait session. Downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota Portrait Studio. Contact Julie Prairie Photography today at (605) 359-6640 or jp@julieprairie.com. More Door Styles! We have the cabinet door styles that you are looking for. The latest additions to our collection are Chappell and Vail. Visit our showroom today and ask one of our friendly designers about these new door styles from StarMark Cabinetry. Today’s StarMark Custom Cabinetry.

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Fall Fashion Faves Let Apricot Lane Boutique at Lake Lorraine help you stay comfortable and on trend as you head in to Fall with denim, graphic tees,

tie-dye and more!

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