Have you ever had one of those days and you’ve had enough?
One of my sons went to school and made the fatal mistake of not cleaning his room like he said he would. I’d been on him for several days to get his filthy room cleaned up. Cups, plates, trash, clothes on the floor. You know. If you have a teenage boy, you’ve seen the room I’m talking about.
Well I lost it. But he had already left for school. What would you do? I figured by the time he got home, I would’ve cooled down. So I sent him a series of fiery texts threatening him with the loss of his phone, friends, firstborn and on and on.
I know. I know. Really I knew before I sent the 7th text in a row that I would regret it. And I did. And I do.
Now this is the point where I could try to justify myself and say “If he would just listen, I wouldn’t have done this.” Or somehow blame him, but I know in my heart that’s not the case. This falls squarely on my shoulders.
First of all, I should have better control of my emotions. Secondly, I should think before I talk, text, etc. about the impact my words will have. And finally, he was taking his chances by not cleaning his room because I have been inconsistent. I’ve told him in the past to clean and there was no consequence when he didn’t do it or wasn’t thorough.
In the end, I messed up all around. This one’s on me.
So I had to swallow my pride and humbly apologize. I asked his forgiveness and didn’t try to justify my actions. Just a heartfelt apology because I was wrong.
I don’t know about you, but I tend to screw up a lot. My heart’s in the right place but my words and actions often fall short so I have gotten pretty good at apologizing.
So what do you think? Do real men apologize?