Anger

First of all, I want to apologize to the “kind lady” I never met…Our son was at the airport waiting to board a flight with his dad, who recounted this story and has told it many times since. At the airport, waiting to board a flight to visit grandparents, a kind lady knelt down at our son’s level and spoke in a sing-songy tone, “Oh, what a cute boy!” Our son, about age 4 at the time, looked at her for a few seconds with a wide-eyed stare, then with his open palm, popped her between the eyes. “Kind lady’s” face changed to “stunned lady” as she put her hand to her forehead and turned to look at Dad. Horrified, my husband apologized and asked if she was okay. She left without saying a word. Our son is now past the “quick-to-anger” phase and has become a patient and mature young man.

I don’t get angry very often, but when I do, I try not to react right away. I take a deep breath and walk away from the situation to clear my mind. Then when I return, I do what I can to work towards resolution. If there’s nothing else I can do, maybe after a good scream or punching a few pillows, I release my hold and turn it over to God in prayer.