Breaking bad habits...

A friend of mine posted this link on his Facebook page yesterday.

You just broke your child. Congratulations.

It was a very interesting read. And really made me think.

I definitely have a short fuse when it comes to some things. The older I've gotten the longer that fuse has gotten but I've been known to lose my shit a time or two. It's happened with the dogs. It's happened with the horses. It's happened with my family (sorry Flip Flop).

I am not a perfect person by any means. And perhaps that's why the universe saw fit to not give me any kids. Perhaps I just didn't need the temptation (although by that reasoning, crack whores wouldn't have kids either... but that's a whole 'nuther blog).

But this article really made me think about how I treat others in general. Not just kids. There are fragile individuals all around us that could use some encouragement vs. a smack down. Often I'm just too damn busy to offer the olive branch and instead bring out the paddle board (figuratively speaking, of course).

This article has encouraged me to do something that's been on my mind for a while... and that's become a mentor. There is a wonderful program just down the street from me that pairs rescued horses with at-risk kids. I think I will go down there next week and see what I can do to help out.

In this way I hope to hone my skills at lifting others up rather than just slapping them down...