What did you learn?

Tell me… what did you learn?

I can’t have been any more than 12 years old. My dad had bought fish and chips at Warracknabeal. By the time he got back to Sheep Hills this gastronomic delight had cooled slightly.

“Here David. Pop these in the oven as a treat for dinner.” I was stoked. We hardly ever got fish and chips and McDonalds hadn’t quite made it to Sheep Hills. I dutifully did as I was told; then got really excited and really hungry.

Until… an acrid aroma began to fill the kitchen. Something wasn’t quite right. A little wisp of smoke hung in the air. My father, looking more than a little puzzled, strode purposefully toward the oven.

Opening the oven, even more smoke came out and my father said a rude word that I had never heard before. Well… actually, it was probably more than one word.

Little shapes of orange blistered the shiny white paper. Of course I had done the right thing and put the precious bundle, paper and all, straight into the oven. Perhaps I should have taken the paper off first? I mean… I guess that would have made sense right? But I was only very tender of years and this was my first foray into gourmet cooking.

My fathers emotions went from surprise, to horror, to anger, to befuddlement, to amusement, to disbelief and then the cycle was quickly repeated… several times.

I don’t remember if the fish and chips were OK and whether we got to eat them. What I do remember was a conversation that began with… “Well David… what did you learn?”

So next time you make a mistake, instead of lashing yourself mercilessly and endlessly, you might instead ask yourself.

“What did I learn?”