Ton of Bricks - A Solution?

Jen and the kids were off to Michigan to see family this past week for Spring Break.  I was unable to go with them because we usually spend quite a bit of time during the summer and Christmas there and I could not afford using up my vacation.  Besides I had to go to Espoo, Finland on a business trip.

When I'm away from my daughters for a while, I begin to miss them deeply. There is a hole in my heart that causes me to reflect on my relationship with them. In a one of my first posts, "Ton of Bricks", I talked about how I could be pretty overbearing. I've prayed for help with this and I have been blessed with some assistance, but I know that something else has to change. This past week has allowed me to take a step back and think about it more.

Jen, God bless her, is much more even keeled than I am.  She is slow to anger and able to handle the kids pretty well in almost every situation.  Whereas I am more quick to anger and more things tend to rub me the wrong way. She knows when it is time to discipline and she is not afraid to pull out the "wait till daddy hears about this" card.

When I get stressed out, my personality is such that I become more controlling. I'm wired to try and control my environment with the assumption that if I do, my stress will be relieved.  Unfortunately, this leads to more stress for myself and everyone around me. Things start to downward spiral. I can see that my oldest is not doing well when handling whatever stress she may have, I think that she is getting it from me.

To that end, I'm going to try and "let go" in regards to handling the kids when they are misbehaving.  I will take my cue from Jen. I will try to be as patient as she is and help discipline when she needs my help. I need to be more even keeled in order to provide a better example for living with others for my children.

St. Joseph, pray for me and all fathers.

Tim