It was one of those days. I was not feeling well-achy but no fever. I had a full day of work coming plus two of my kids had an activity that evening they needed to go to. In addition, one of my kids struggled to get out of bed that morning and we were running late. I do NOT like to be late-ever! All of this was running through my mind when getting in the car with two of my kids. My youngest then refused to move over so that my son could get in the car. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Sadly, I yelled at her to move (and maybe like five times). Of course, this did not make her move but instead she started crying. I jumped out of the car with the intention of moving her myself but seeing her cry made me stop. I then took a few deep breaths and hugged her. I then asked her to move again which she did. I apologized for yelling. My son told me I would need to have a consequence for my behavior-lol.
I share this story to remind everyone that no one is perfect. I frequently work with adults that appear to feel shame as opposed to guilt for some of their behaviors. We are not bad people if we slip up at times. I teach others anger management techniques and ways to cope when upset, and yet I do not always remember to utilize them. My initial reaction in that situation was responding in anger. I'm human and made a mistake. Luckily I was able to recognize my mistake, change my behavior, and apologize. I am not always able to do so so easily but I will continue to work on improving. That's all we can do, continue to strive to be better.
