The Sobering.

     I don't mean not drunk when I say sobering up, I mean self-restraint through introspection. This is one that's going to really stub my toe. The other night, Catie and I were walking down to the store and I was getting frustrated by whatever we were arguing about; I think it was money. To top it all off, the dog was just not cooperating on the walk, and kept pulling on the leash, which is a big no. Well, I may have yanked back on the leash a little too hard. After the dogs legs settled back on the ground my wife just levels me with this glare and says, "don't take your frustration with me out on the dog". And she was right. She was dead on. That's exactly what I did. Now, to quell the fears of any PETA readers, the dog is fine and he had a special leash on that wasn't around his neck: he's fine.
     Am I ever going to do that to my kid? I mean, I'm pretty sure I won't yank on her leash or anything, but I will be coming home from work hacked off, or while spending time with her she's going to find my last nerve and just start jumping on it with cleats. There could be a lot of things that combined would make for a really bad day, but I can't take it out on my kid. That sobering look my wife gave me? I need to figure out how to get a portable one of those. Something that will snap me back to reality and the big picture so I can realize what's really going on, what I'm actually upset about, and what I can do about it. I wonder what it will be.
     As a post script, you also shouldn't be an alcoholic or addict. That's just bad in general for child raising.