Have you regretted an outburst of anger? What did you do about it? 

Have you ever had an angry outburst and regretted it afterward? How do you deal with it?

I don’t get truly angry often. Often, I get angry to defend myself, sort of like putting a shield to protect myself from incoming attacks because after living with someone as reactive as my mom who would go off like a landmine, I’ve become a little (you might say) docile.

I had a small outburst last Saturday when I came home accusing my mom of not trust me to say no to the travel agency trying to sell me membership. Before I left to the presentation, she had told me over and over to not give in and say no. Then right after the presentation, she kept calling me about the same thing.

How many times does she need to repeat the same message?

I get it and trust me, I don’t want to spend that ridiculous amount of money, not even for a lifetime of staying in luxurious condos for one-week vacations.

At the time, I felt like she didn’t trust me to do the right thing. Why am I not trustworthy in her eyes? What changed between her leaving me to fend for myself in a apartment at the age 16 for almost a year and now?

Anyway, I got angry and went off on her when I got home. “Really?” I said, “You can’t even trust me to make the right decision?”

She immediately became defensive, “I never said I didn’t trust you.”

“Then why did you keep calling me?”

“I called only one.” Really? I counted 4 times, almost simultaneously.

Eventually, I decided there was no winning this argument, best to just shut up and accept defeat.

Sunday Poser