I had to sigh and stop myself this morning.
Once again I had fallen into the trap of saying things to myself that I would not allow anyone (including and especially me) say to one of my children.
You know how it is. You make a mistake, or something goes wrong, or an experiment fails, and the words “stupid!” and “always!” are launched inside your head like misdirected torpedoes.
I wasn’t going to to do that any more.
But it is a habit that has to die. Really, this is beyond a “giving it up for Lent” thing. This is a thing that all of us, and perhaps especially women, have to work on. Yes, on some level, we all have to be our own severest critics (though surely there are people who seem to have volunteered, in all of our lives, for that position). But the law of kindness has to be in our heads before it can be on our tongues.
Rewinding the tape, re-evaluating my evaluation. Breathing, and not letting That Voice win the day.