When Adulting Lessons Work

So, last night my son (Who shall remain nameless, lest he become upset with me for telling stories about him to the entire world.) made a trip to the bank at a rather late hour.
But it was before midnight.
And that matters.

You see, our sons are each required to pay a portion of our cellphone bill, and their payment is due on the first of the month. And because of a history of not paying on time, a few months ago Brian and I established a system for late fees. With the intent of helping our sons become more responsible with paying bills, in an effort to prepare them for the "real world".
So, last month the son who made the late trip to the bank last night "forgot" to pay on the first of the month. And the second. And the third.
And this momma decided it wasn't her job to nag continue reminding, so she stopped.
Until the 16th of the month when it occurred to her that said son still hadn't made his payment, so she asked when he was going to make it. And together they calculated that he owed $34. Sixteen of which was late fees. Bummer.

Thus, I found myself chuckling last night, and pleased by a lesson learned, when I overheard that son of mine realizing it was the first of the month and stating, "I'm going to the bank to get that money. Because last month I had to pay too much in late fees...grumble, grumble."
The truth is, I felt kind of bad for taking that extra money from him last month. But in the "real world" he's going to face hard deadlines, and billing entities won't listen to sob stories or forgetful excuses. So, I think the lesson he learned was actually a bargain.
Here's hoping it sticks with him!