Don't Try Too Hard

Perhaps it's my law degree, or perhaps it's my personality, but I'm very cautious about what I say, almost to the point of being insecure. At home, that often translates into trying too hard to not to say things that would hurt my kids' feelings or trying too hard to compliment them. This complex is compounded by the fact that I feel a little guilty that I only see them a few hours each night. Interestingly, because they are treated with an excess of caution, they respond with an excess of sensitivity. It could be that my mind was so caught up in an opinion I need to finish drafting for the judge, but I wasn't making my typically excessive effort to be sensitive to my kids' feelings today. In fact, I sometimes forgot they were kids and spoke to them like I would to my wife. The result, I'm surprised to say, was that they weren't overly sensitive to the things that I said and they responded more, dare I say, maturely.