The older I get the more patience and empathy I seem to have..I give people a big ol’ benefit of a doubt because you just never know what kind of crap they’re going through (could be in pain, stressed out, etc.)...I think my husband is a positive influence on me because he’s got the longest fuse in the world.
However, if I see you hit a kid in Wal-Mart, treat an animal poorly or shoot your mouth off being hateful towards anyone…I say something.
I start out really nice, even if I’m mad. I use my “mom voice”—I can’t even help it.
One time I was in Wal-mart and this woman was chewing out her young kid (he looked kindergarten age) calling him names and smacking him on his head. I walked over to her and said: “That’s my son over there. He’d love to play with your son for a while if you’d like a break. Would you like me to watch him for a few hours?” She stared at me in shock..and mumbled something like “no”..and I said: “You sure? Well, Okay then.” I looked at the tearful little boy and pointedly said: “Bye, sweetie.” She didn’t yell or lay a hand on him the rest of the time in the store. I didn’t judge, I didn’t threaten..I just offered help..but it seems like it was enough to make her check her behavior.
I’m working really hard to get more patient when I drive, too. A few years ago I got my own wake-up call. I was teaching Sunday School and we were talking about things we need to work on and I mentioned that I need to curse less when I drive.
One of the little boys started laughing really hard…and said: “Yeah, you flipped my mom off last week. We thought it was hysterical!” Talk about mortification. (She’d been trying to catch up with my car to wave at me..she was in the right lane that goes away (ends) when the road goes down to just one lane. I mistakenly thought she was trying to pass me on the right and flipped her off without seeing who it was..and here it was someone I really like! Ooops!! I try really hard not to shoot other people the bird these days.)