Pissed

[Faith No More]

Ugh...not looking forward to the teenage years. Both my kids are willful and defiant like their old man, so I'm sure they will be barrels of fun at that age.

Each person has their emotional limits that they can be pushed to, and one thing I've learned as a parent is that you will frequently be pushed to those limits. Because of this, it is inevitable that a parent will react at some point in a manner they wish they hadn't. Since these reactions are inevitable, I think a key part of being a good parent is using these situations as good learning moments.

I've tried to acknowledge and apologize to my oldest when I react in a way I shouldn't have to teach him about owning your mistakes and trying to learn from them. It seems to have sunk in a bit, beacause after he calms down from a typical four year-old meltdown, he'll apologize for it with no prompting.

The most important thing, however, is that no matter how heated things get, as a parent you make sure the child never loses sight of the fact that you love them.

[Joods]

Yep. No matter how upset I am, I will always tell them that I love them. My love for the kids overpowers any other feelings I may have, even during moments where I am being tested harder than ever.

[Minimalist]

Look at it this way, Judy. At least you didn't feel the need to drown most of them, like certain 'gods' I could mention.

[Joods]

No thoughts of drowning here. Besides, she knows how to swim. lol, joke people. I wouldn't ever think of or even attempt to drown anyone.
Sunday was interesting. She read the rest of Maze Runner and started on the second book in the series. The oldest stepson (T) got himself in trouble when I was woken up at 8am by the youngest stepson (K) because T called K a name and hurt his feelings. That set T's whole day off with nothing but attitude. Rather than yelling, I made him work.