There is still work to do, and that is ok

 No matter how far we've come, there is still work to do, and that is ok.

This morning I raised my voice at our almost 4 year old. It was a hectic morning as usual in our house, but this morning my anger got the best of me.  I reacted to a heightened situation with her instead of responding.

Almost immediately I was ashamed of myself and knew that I should have responded to her with more understanding and compassion, instead of a rushed emotional reaction.

I went outside to reset and when I returned she said, "you raising your voice at me heart my heart papa", my heart sunk and I'm was even more ashamed.  I apologized to her and told her that I shouldn't have raised my voice at her.  And we all continued our morning routines, with me doing my best to soften the tension that was created.

Me reacting in this way doesn't happen often.  And when it does, it tends to be during times of heighten stressors happening.  The work is improving myself in those times of heighten stress and learning to catch those reactions before they surface.

I'm better at that now than I was in the past, but there is still plenty of space to improve, especially when it comes to having more positive responses to my closest loved ones.

Take a breath.  Forgive yourself.  Do better next time.  Repeat.