"Just stop fidgeting!"
The words were out of my mouth for less than a second before a wave of guilt washed over me. In my days as a consultant I'd often be in the midst of a day full of interviews and meetings when I noticed my clients' eyes drifting towards my fingers, where my pen was spinning in circles between my fingers. My office desk is littered with pens, paperclips, stress balls... anything I can toss, spin, twirl or whirl in some way.
Of course my daughter is a fidgeter. She's MY daughter.
And the hypocrisy doesn't end at pen twirling. It seems the very habits in my daughter that drive me the most insane are the things she's picked up or inherited from me. Yelling when she's angry? Me. Talking nonstop? Me. Getting distracted mid sentence by another thought that enters her brain? Me.
It's enough to make me wonder how my wife tolerates me.
Printer-friendly version