There’s a corner where we stop and take a short break on the bike ride. Leashed up in a yard nearby was a cute little dog. His leash got caught up in something, and he couldn’t move much. A woman came out of the house and over to the dog. He wagged his tail all eager to see her, and she scolded him harshly for getting tangled up and this and that, and he just kept wagging that tail.

And that completely bothered me, so badly that I almost started crying on the ride as we pedaled away.

Because I can remember being that woman, all harsh and scolding, to my (now ex-) significant other one day when he was happy to see me, and I was unhappy to come home to find the trash can still out at the curb and goodness knows what else.

Sometimes life provides you with a mirror, and you see some things in yourself that you really don’t want to see.

I am so sorry, so sorry for that moment.

What did I say to my students last week? it is the hard words that you will regret. So say the kind ones, whenever you can. Damn it.