Don’t Break Your Child When You Are Stressed

You may think that life in our family is great … no problems there, right?  Wrong! You probably remember my grumpy dreams about a lot of stresses in our life.  There’s a big reason why I have been unable to post recently, too.  I am simply overwhelmed.

stressed

How do you get back on track when feel that your life has been derailed? That’s a lesson for another day … as I am in the process of getting there myself.  But what is important to learn as a parent, spouse, and leader is that you should not break your loved ones as you work to get back on track.  Let me explain:

We have a certain daughter who loves animals.  Years ago, this animal lover pleaded with us to get a cat.  I said no.  Wife said yes.  We have a cat.

Fast forward a couple more years and this certain animal lover had been neglecting her litter-box-changing-duties.  And if the box is too full, the cat likes to use my closet as its own personal outhouse.  Well, I remember the night I came home to find another fresh, smelly “leftover” in my closet.

I lost it! Not the cat, but my patience!

I yelled.  I yelled loudly.

Moments later, I was crushed because I knew that I had crushed someone else’s spirit.  Yeah, you know, that animal lover who begged me for the cat was broken … by me.  I cannot described how terrible I felt.  It was like the “bad man” in You just broke your child. CongratulationsIf you have not read Dan’s post, it is well worth the read.

While I could go on, and on, and on, about what to do when your kid’s cat poops in your closet, the real lesson is … don’t break your child while working through the conflict.