Lesson #43
Road rage is contagious
I am not a very patient driver. I am not a very patient person in general to be honest. If there is one thing I am not good at, it is waiting. I don't like wasting time and have little tolerance for people who make me late. This isn't one of my best qualities. One of the places I really struggle with patience is in the car. I try to manage my frustration but inevitably, the kids pick up on my irritation when people are not driving as well as I am.
Today, on the way to camp drop off, the person in front of me was very hesitant to take his left turn. We waited and waited for him to make a move, meanwhile missing our light. I think I might have said, "go!" under my breath at one point. Just as the guy was starting to turn, Max yelled, "You idiot!"
I was shocked! This is not a word we use in our house at all! But I know it wasn't even the word itself that bothered me. It was the fact that Max had no patience for waiting on this guy to turn. I know that he has picked up on that from driving around with me for the past six years. This isn't the first time he has commented on another driver's inability to live up to my expectations. Over a year ago, he yelled to a woman, "You need to go to driving school," as our window was down. Not my proudest moment as a parent.
I certainly do not want my kids to grow up to be angry drivers. But more importantly, I do not want them to inherit my low threshold of patience for other people. Life is to short to worry about being a few minutes late. I really need to stop myself and take a deep breath the next time I find myself feeling aggravated by other people on the road.
Road rage is contagious
I am not a very patient driver. I am not a very patient person in general to be honest. If there is one thing I am not good at, it is waiting. I don't like wasting time and have little tolerance for people who make me late. This isn't one of my best qualities. One of the places I really struggle with patience is in the car. I try to manage my frustration but inevitably, the kids pick up on my irritation when people are not driving as well as I am.
Today, on the way to camp drop off, the person in front of me was very hesitant to take his left turn. We waited and waited for him to make a move, meanwhile missing our light. I think I might have said, "go!" under my breath at one point. Just as the guy was starting to turn, Max yelled, "You idiot!"
I was shocked! This is not a word we use in our house at all! But I know it wasn't even the word itself that bothered me. It was the fact that Max had no patience for waiting on this guy to turn. I know that he has picked up on that from driving around with me for the past six years. This isn't the first time he has commented on another driver's inability to live up to my expectations. Over a year ago, he yelled to a woman, "You need to go to driving school," as our window was down. Not my proudest moment as a parent.
I certainly do not want my kids to grow up to be angry drivers. But more importantly, I do not want them to inherit my low threshold of patience for other people. Life is to short to worry about being a few minutes late. I really need to stop myself and take a deep breath the next time I find myself feeling aggravated by other people on the road.
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