Graceful Parenting in Austin

I’m driving home from the coffee shop last night after having posted My Hairdresser in a Nightgown and it doesn’t feel right. I thought about calling a friend and asking her if she thought it was right, but I knew if I had to ask, then it wasn’t. (Which is exactly what this friend would have said.)

I’m driving behind a white van that is driving pretty slow. We get to the light where I need to turn right and he is turning right too, except he is going even slower and I’m sure that was a complete stop he made before turning at the green light.

After his turn, he takes it easy, maybe waiting to merge into all of the traffic that doesn’t exist at 10pm. He has delayed my trip by at least fifteen seconds so far, so I say out loud, “What the #$%#$%$ kind of driving is that!!!!”

Then I know what was wrong with the post.

If I remember right, I think I claimed that I have “learned” (past tense) how to be flexible and patient. I can point to evidence that says this is true, like last Thursday night and even tonight when Baby Girl tipped over the cat’s water bowl, I burned my arm on splattering oil and I didn’t realize we were out of tarragon until the very, very last step of making tarragon chicken and I was still managing all right.

BUT, then there are times I yell at the guy in the white van for stealing my precious fifteen seconds. There are even times when I do yoga in the morning, at the beginning of my yoga tape I made using Garage Band on the Mac, when I’m doing spinal flexes and listening to a prayer about compassion, you know, “consider compassion for yourself, your family, extended family, people you don’t know, people you don’t like…” And in the middle of this prayer my cat will come to me and want some attention and loving and I will be annoyed because I’m TRYING to do yoga and this is MY time and I’ll tell my cat to “GET #$%#$% LOST!”

Can you believe that? I get angry at a CAT? DURING the prayer on compassion?

So, “learned” wasn’t the right word. “Learning” is a better word. I’m still learning.