It was Einstein

LO made a mistake today. No biggie, but a mistake. 

I was a little concerned because she has made this same mistake 5 times before and had consequences each time. 

She is a bright girl. 

It was time for a talk. 

She was disheartened - and I could not tell if it was because she was frustrated at having messed up, or because she was frustrated at having to have another talk. 

I wanted her to talk about it, but everything was, "I don't know."

I don't know why I did it. 

I don't know why punishment doesn't help. 

She did say she does not want more severe punishment to help her remember. 

Duh. 

I explained that this seems to be a cycle. I explained that there will be times in her life that she will realize, "This has happened before -- and I am in the same place I was last time."

It might be a boyfriend who argues. It might be a co-worker with whom she has a hard time getting along. It might be a professor who is hard to please.

I explained that when she realizes, "This has happened before," -- that's when she needs to stop and figure out how to handle it differently. 

People who don't learn this stay in the same cycle - with abusive partners, DUI infractions, doggie puddles in the dining room -- whatever. 

We went to the computer and googled, "definition of insanity." 

It was Einstein who said it. 

I saw a glimmer of light in her eyes. 

She got it. (sigh) We are moving forward.