When elders struggle to say sorry

The notion might be true that parents and elders often find it difficult to apologize and admit they are wrong in their daily encounters with children and youth. In this part of the world, it's a cultural thing. Elders are perceived to know it all, and since the younger generation is to learn from them, they (the elders) think they can't go wrong.

At home, parents find it difficult to apologize directly in words. When they know they are wrong, they feel ashamed to do so and only increase the care and sometimes gifts so as to appeal to their conscience. I live among a family of 6, including myself. The advantages are great, but the disadvantages are also there. For one, when things happen, like gadgets get spoiled, or things go missing, or aren't properly placed around the house, it becomes hard to figure out who did it.

I came from a very strict family with Godly precepts of home training. My parents frown at bad habits and also when we aren't in line with their teachings and other things we aren't supposed to do. So when things happen, it's hard to know who did it. Mainly because the person who did it is afraid and doesn't want to get punished and would rather leave the discussion open. It's either everyone gets punished or we are all left alone. I guess we're all guilty of something like that.

These things happen in most families. One day, my mom misplaced a bunch of her money and searched for it for a while but couldn't find it. To be honest, she is very forgetful about something like this. After searching for a while, she finally suggested that one of us must have taken it. Then we were asked, and no one said they saw it or took it. It became a serious issue, and my mom stood her ground, insisting that one of us must have taken it.

With the way she stood her ground, I was almost thinking maybe one of my siblings was playing a trick again. Meanwhile, my dad took a different stance, saying she must have misplaced it and that it wasn't taken. When no one confessed, we dropped the issue, but it was a serious one. You could almost feel the tension in the air.

After a few days, I was chatting with my dad when he told me that my mom had found her money and he told her to come and apologize to all of us. But I guess due to shame, she couldn't bring herself to apologize to us. It pained me explicitly. But I learned lessons from the situation. She thought we took her money because of our history. Also, that sometimes when you suspect someone of a thing, it's better to just hold it and wait. Suspicion is through our head, and even if logical, it can still be wrong.
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