Begin Again

Put aside garden variety rudeness or bad manners. When was the last time you misbehaved so badly that recalling it makes you cringe?

Over the thirty nine years my wife and I have been together, I've avoided the boners that destroy many relationships. My misbehaviors have never led her to distrust me. But even-tempered, I'm not. I admire people who are not as easily triggered as me and I've worked hard to cool my hot-headedness. Still, spectacular failures are always nearby.

"Stop over-reacting to perceived slights and lose the need to be affirmed so much." That was a note I wrote to myself sometime during a semi-disastrous skiing trip to Killington in late 2015. I discovered it earlier today while looking for something in an old journal. Good self-coaching. Unfortunately, the memory of my misbehavior came right back as I read my words. Sorry sweetheart, again.