Make the Boy Cry

“As long as we stay angry, we keep our pain”—James Joyce

Dang it. I got angry with my 8 year old for acting like a 8 year old. Through scolding words and demanding standards, I made him cry; and for the rest of my day, I sulked in a low grade funk, disappointed –not with him, but with myself, my immature response to: shoes lost, glasses lost, book lost, and all for the umpteenth time. He did what all little boys do until they learn what, in most cases, develops unnaturally: organization.

I expected him to be organized and under control; and yet when he was not, I responded with a hissy fit of undisciplined anger.

A friend once said that adults are just kids with long legs. Seems to be true, dang it.