ben, a broken camera and wite-out = anger

Today while I was upstairs involved in my Esther bible study, Ben was outside making one of his films on his bike. He has made about 20 Mr. Bill videos in the last 2 days. I have told him to be really careful with the camera and so far he has been. Later I come downstairs, and he is quietly reading a book on the couch, with wite-out on his forehead.

"What is that??" I ask him.

"Oh, I had some trouble with the camera. It's wite-out," he says.

"Why is it on your head?" I really don't want to know. "Where's the camera?"

"I left you a note with the camera. Sorry." The look on his face tells me a lot.

The note reads:

"Hi!! Mom i,m sorry the part of the camera broke.

and i was wondering if you could put it on youtube."

The camera has wite-out on the lens, and on some of the broken pieces of the lens cap. It still works for the most part. (See photo).

I am pretty mad. Steve comes home during all of this and we forgive Ben who is in tears because I'm angry, we sit down to eat together. "I'm saving up for a laptop," he says, "do I have to pay for the camera?" This from a kid who if he has 10 dollars, it burns a hole in his pocket. "You are not getting a laptop," I say to him. I restrain myself from saying more.

At dinner Steve is picturing Ben wiping out on his bike with my camera and his little clay Mr. Bill. Then Ben panicking and using wite-out as glue to put the camera back together, and in the process smearing it all over his forehead. Steve is laughing so hard he almost crying. I am not laughing.

I am still mad, a little. Ben walks into my room carrying some of the earphones I prayed to re-appear. "Can I borrow these? I want to do an experiment -"

"NO."