Adventures in parenting, vol. 5

Allow me to submit that being an introvert is sometimes hard on the parenting front, too.

From an advice website I regularly read:

"Running a family requires you to follow a higher priority, which is to get the best behavior out of your kids regardless of whether you’re feeling exhausted, neglected or disrespected. By that logic, you should have tolerated bickering more and played solitaire less, but your son’s decision to designate you as loser of the blame game won’t fix the past.

Now, you’re stuck in a game of “you ignored me, so I’ll ignore you, no I’ll ignore you more, no I don’t even see you so I can’t ignore you.” This isn’t parenting, this is a vicious circle you don’t want.

So, when your son decides to confront you, don’t share your negative feelings, though you’ve certainly got a right to feel them. If you guilt or intimidate the kids into acting nicer, they’ll get you later.

Forget who started it or who’s the biggest jerk. It’s your job to break the log jam and move things forward, and you do that by being a good guy, which you can do at anytime, even after your kid finishes med school and becomes a shrink to figure out how to deal with dads like you."

I will add at this juncture that it is my pleasure to spend all I have--mentally, emotionally, financially--for the sake of my family.  I just make up my mind to not count the cost.