Justice or Vengeance?

A neighbor kid knocked on our door this weekend, so I hollered at big kid to deal with it. Big kid slowly and casually wanders over to the door while neighbor kid watches him through the glass side panel. Neighbor kid asks if lil brother can come outside to play. Big kid (all deadpan) says, "No, he won't play with you." and then slams the door in neighbor kid's face. I am stunned by big kid's rudeness. As big kid idles past me (with my mouth hanging open in shock like a bass mounted on a wall plaque), he says, "I've always wanted to do that. He does that to me all the time. And now I finally got my chance." And you know what, I gave the kid a high-five. Because I. Get. It. And I did not waste my breath by giving him the "be a better person" speech either. Because sometimes being "the better person" isn't the right thing to do. Turn about is fair play. I recently had an opportunity to dish out a little bit of benign mischief to someone who is persistently childish, insecure, whining, and passive aggressive. And quite frankly, it was WORTH IT. So I let big kid have his moment. Because nothing feels more satisfying than fair turn-about.

And if you're feeling morally superior after reading this, then by all means, pat yourself on the back.