I had one of those moments today that made realize that I suck.
Jaden was looking for one of his Spyro GameBoy cartridge and realized he left it at the gymnastics meet yesterday. And, of course, he came unglued. The wife was getting ready, so I had to try and handle this. And, of course, I sucked. I didn't know what I could tell him that would cheer him up. When he said we could go back to the gym and try and find it, I told him that it was closed and too far away. He asked if we could buy him a new one, I explained that it may not be possible to get that game anymore. Which, of course, didn't help him feel any better.
My wife overheard this and was not happy with how I was handling it. After a smart-ass comment about my handling of the situation--something along the lines of "are you trying to be mean or does it just come naturally"--she asked me why I wasn't saying anything to console him. I told her that I had no clue how to deal with that situation. Of course Jaden goes to mommy and I watched her deal with the situation. And I felt like I sucked.
My wife also made the comment that if I'm able to troubleshoot my way out of these situations at work, how come I can't do it at home. Simple: there are less emotions involved at work. I rarely see the people on the other end of the phone and I am able to think clearly. When presented with a sobbing person, I have a much harder time thinking clearly.
I don't know where I am going with this. I lost my train of thought. Maybe this is part of my difficulty with people. Maybe I just suck. Or maybe I just had a sucky moment. Whatever it is, time to move on.