Dishwasher Disaster

This morning I was doing dishes. As usual, Gracie is right under my feet. She won't help with dishes, but won't leave the kitchen either. Maybe I am crazy, but I like to have the dishwasher open until I have washed all the dishes, even the ones by hand. Reasoning: if I come to something that goes in the dishwasher, I don't have to rinse and dry my hands before touching the handle to the dishwasher. I can just slip it in. Well, today was no different. So, while I was washing, from the corner of my eye I see Gracie back into the dishwasher door and fall right on it, bending hinges and pushing the stainless steel cover out at the sides.

Now, I know what you are thinking, but I really held my temper. Rather than raising my voice and yelling it was  repeated "Oh no!" quietly....and I may have slipped the "Daddy's going to be mad." AGAIN, I did not raise my voice, but when I said the latter, I knew I made a mistake. Gracie looked at me with her big eyes. "Don't cry," I said. And she wasn't, but at any moment I knew she could erupt. She gave me a small smile and walked away. Great. I held my temper. I mean it. I did really good. So, why do I feel guilty? I followed her to her room and again asked her not to cry. "I'm not, I just want to play in my room." Yeah, I would believe it if the sweet little smile wasn't so forced and her eyes weren't so diverted. I said my apology, EVEN THOUGH I did really good with my temper. Did I mention I did really good?

There has been so many times when Gracie has gotten in trouble and she handles it better than any adult I know would. She stands there, accepts the reprimand, and then quietly walks away, thus forcing Justin or I to feel incredibly guilty. Sometimes she is less forgiving, but most of the time she accepts our apology for our outburst and will allow us to wrap our arms around her. (Side note: This morning I held her hand while she watched Pink Panther. She asked why I did it and I told her I do it for the same reason I give her hugs. It makes my heart get big like the Grinch. She liked that.)

Thank you Gracie, for forgiving me. Don't worry, Daddy can fix anything!