Apology Accepted

There’s a part in Erich Segal’s Love Story where young lover Oliver has really messed up and hurt his beloved Jennifer. He runs all over town searching for her in every place he can think of, but finally gives up and goes home--to find Jenny on the doorstep with no keys to get out of the cold. When he tries to apologize, she stops him by saying that “love means never having to say you’re sorry.” It was a line that caught the national imagination and quickly became part of the popular culture. Now, Love Story is my very most favorite book and I have read it so many times that at one point I had the first five pages memorized word-for-word, but I think that sentiment, while noble, is complete fantasy. And I know at least one other person agrees with me because I once saw a bumper sticker proclaiming, “Love means having to say you’re sorry every five minutes.” Which is funny. And a lot closer to reality. But “I’m sorry” is a tricky game--it may get you out of hot water temporarily, but is meaningless if it doesn’t influence your behavior in the future. I tell my children that “sorry” means feeling badly for what you’ve done AND that you won’t do it again. I think that applies to everyone, not just kids. In Gina and Mercer Mayer’s I’m Sorry, Little Critter finds out that apologizing is important, but sorry doesn’t fix everything. Words to live by.

http://www.amazon.com/Sorry-Mercer-Mayers-Little-Critter/dp/0895777819

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercer_Mayer

http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=44835