Word of the Day: yelly

This is a term that my darling daughters have invented. I suppose you might need a definition.

yelly /yel' ee/ adj : to express one's self in a manner that is unfriendly, and/or loud, usually in frustration or anger

I am accused of being yelly more often than I would like. Most of the time I can keep my cool, but if I haven't eaten when I should, I seem to loose control of my voice inflection, tone, and volume. Or, if several unpleasant things have happened to build me up to a point where a straw can break this camel's back, ooh, Mom is about to get yelly.

I hear my precious little ones accuse one another of being yelly sometimes, too. Just this morning I heard one daughter use a quiet but angry voice, and the other said, "You don't have to get yelly about it." Here, our word of the day was able to quickly diffuse the situation.

How to avoid being yelly? Well, I am working on this one... lots of prayer, taking deep breaths and short breaks from the situation. Also for me, since low blood sugar is often involved, making sure I have eaten. But when I realize I have waited too long to eat, I try to stay away from others until I have a snack or simply let my kids know I am hungry. They know what it means.

And when I screw up, I apologise. This happens too often, indicating my imperfection, but it helps me to recognise and correct my mistakes. No one likes to admit their wrong, so telling my kids I am sorry for over reacting is a powerful stimulator for my personal improvement. It is also helping them to know that I respect them, and that I feel they deserve to be treated well.

There are more great ideas over at Natural Mom's Talk Radio. At her blog, Carrie talks about the other feelings that might be behind our anger, and our yellyness. Identifying those feelings can help us to act more effectively instead of just blowing up.

Overall, though, getting a little yelly doesn't mean we are failures. It simply means we are humans with faults who will be forever seeking to refine ourselves. No matter how much better we are, there is always room for improvement. But we must remember to acknowledge our progress so that we will have the confidence to continue in our task of self help.