Teachable Moments

This past Wednesday morning as I was walking my girls to school, my dog Nutmeg, jumped at a boy as we walked by. Immediately his mother starting yelling at me, telling me that they were currently suing someone whose dog bit her son. Of course I apologized but there was nothing I could do to make that situation less stressful for her. But as we walked away, I told my children that her behaviour was completely justified. That if one of them had been bitten by a dog, I’d probably feel and react the same way she did. Her anger at me, wasn’t about me. (Okay well a little bit!) And so I chose to understand her and not take on her feelings of anger. Which was a conscious decision. I think I easily could’ve walked away feeling so bad I burst into tears.

It’s interesting to me actually, that this occurred at all. I am in the process of training my dog with a vibration collar and couldn’t find the remote as we were leaving. I use it when she jumps. I also couldn’t find her other collar that stops her from pulling. She’s still a pup essentially, and came from Turkey with her wild and free mentality. She’s super sweet and would never hurt a soul. But her playful nature certainly isn’t for everyone. And well, I wasn’t as prepared for our walk to school as I should have been.

So this became another teachable moment with my girls.

I told them that if we put things back where they belong, then I would’ve known where these items were, and I could’ve had an easier time walking Nutmeg on our walk to school. Perhaps even avoiding the part where my chocolate lab jumped at that scared boy! I certainly didn’t mean to add stress to that family’s morning.

But, as I believe that things come up to teach us something, there was a reason our Wednesday morning went the way it did. And perhaps that reason was to teach my children to have compassion for others. And, that’s a pretty amazing thing to get to teach. They walked away understanding someone else’s feelings. And they were able to go to school confidently knowing that a situation that was intense didn’t have to be our story to how we started our day. We let it go and moved forward.

I know for myself I felt pretty good for the way I handled that. Then I got in my jeep, cranked the music, and enjoyed a country drive.

Remember, we get to choose how things make us feel. And we get to choose how potential stressful situations go. Let’s not get so emotionally attached to things! It’s empowering 😉.

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Wishing you more peace, balance, happiness, vibrant health and lasting love.

Sandy xo