Put myself in a difficult situation once. I pushed my son. Well, in fact, I shoved him or at least tried to. He didn’t move much but the intent from me was clear. I lost control of my temper.

It was over nothing really. It was the basic 13 year old attitude. The to-be-expected sarcastic backtalk, pushing the limits, testing perhaps how far he could push. He pushed too far, I mishandled it and pushed back…. literally.

The physical push itself wasn’t a big deal but was symbolic of one. Clearly I handled it poorly.

Here’s the interesting part though. It was a real issue for his brothers. It seriously impacted them as well. They became very angry with me and they let me know it.

The youngest said to me, “I don’t like it when you push Steve!” There were tears in his eyes. The oldest, who tended to internalize, slammed doors and went outside with a basketball by himself. This was rare.

It was clearly a united front among brothers and was pretty cool to see. I hated what I did but respected the response immensely.

When I was a kid and one of us got hit by Dad, we would scatter, hide and later test to be sure we were still on his good side. It was every man for himself.

Not these brothers though. All for one and one for all. That’s not something, I think, you encounter too often. I liked it.

It all worked out and I learned a very big lesson. With these brothers, there is no fear factor when it comes to violence. Thanks for the education gentlemen.

#Thoughts