Donuts... who knew?

This weekend I took the kids through Tim Horton's drive thru for breakfast. I ordered a hot sandwich.  With the meal, a Boston Cream donut came with it.  (So of course I had to take it, right?)  Instead of putting the donut in a separate bag, they put it on the bottom of the bag with the hot sandwich on top of it. What?! Come on! So naturally, the donut got squished and the chocolate melted. I was annoyed. I have this thing about bad customer service. If CS is not your gifting, you should find another job. It's not about quantity it's about quality. You may be able to get 18 cars through your drive thru in 5 minutes, but that's not impressive if you are skimping on quality. 

ANYWAY, that made me a little grumpy and I found myself snapping at my kids. I didn't yell or anything but I had a short temper and was treating them disrespectfully. That got me thinking about how often I take frustration about a situation out on the people in the closest proximity to me. It could be my kids, my spouse, or a person I am passing on the street. It doesn't matter. The fact is, I should control my emotions enough that it doesn't negatively affect those around me. I'm not saying shove everything down. Ask my husband. I am a COMMUNICATOR. But, if we let every frustrating thing that happens to us cause us to act differently, we need to evaluate that. 

I had to stop mid-sentence with my kids and apologize for the way I was acting. I told them about the donut and how it annoyed me but that it was no excuse for my behavior. They understood and accepted my apology. It was a great teachable moment. It was also a good moment for self-reflection (if there ever is a "good" moment for that... that's one of my least favorite things to do).  Who knew donuts could cause so handy?  I may need to eat more of them, ya know, to become a better person and all that...  *wink* 

I just want to encourage you to take some time and notice your behavior. I find that I'm often mistreating the people who mean most to me because something unexpected happened or something didn't go my way. It's not fair to them. What situations do you find make you grumpy?  

I read something a few years back that said to look at your face in the mirror when you're explaining or ranting about something. What do you see? The article said to recognize that's what others see, especially your children. I gave that a try... yikes!! I don't think I've perfected the "look" yet - I'm pretty much an open book. You can guess how I'm feeling by the look on my face. I have tried (and am still trying) to learn not to be so disrespectful or disapproving with my looks. It's HARD! 

How do you react to things? Does the atmosphere around you change when something happens that upsets you? Do you use any techniques to help tamper or control those reactions?

Thanks for stopping by,