This is geared toward the newer OP's. It's a pretty basic concept, boundries, and my thought process behind it as it was happening. Some may also say it's a good example of controlled anger, others may say I started acting like a faggot...they both could be right.

And btw, if you want to put a label on it, broke frame might be a bit more accurate. Frame isn't lost or held...it just is. But I digress...

Long story short, I told my kid not to do something and literally seconds later my wife tells him to do it with a shit eating grin on her face. It was bait, I knew it, and I took it anyway. I started to AA it at first, viewing it in RP terms as a shit test...following yesterday's outbreak (whole different story, handled that like a champ).

This was a pretty clear boundry crossing, one that we had established 12 years ago and actually never have had to enforce. Until now. And I typed in the code and pressed the button. And I was mad when I did it. Now there's somethin ya don't read here often...

She walked off once I realized the AA had turned into passive aggressive bullshit, and decided to stfu for a minute. She already knew. It didn't have to be said, but when I got back to the car I flat out said to never do anything like that again. No "Or I'll do X"....just. don't. do. it. She tried explaining her way out. "Don't do it," again. A few more times. Hell yeah I slipped up and countered a few jabs. I'd catch myself getting into some verbal foreplay, and that's when I'd bring it back to the main point. Don't do it again.

The smile and laugh when she did it, and her attitude after the fact like she had just apologized to end the conversation, literally no signs of "yeah, that was a bad move", made me mad as fuck. And within an hour I decided to stop focusing on all that bullshit and look at the reality of it. I said all I can say, her choices moving forward are out of my control. She'll either do it again or she won't, and there's no guarantee she's going to be any more or less pleasant to be around for the next few days.

So what do I do from here? Pretty simple. Type this up, do some reading before bed, wake up, go to work, watch my kid's game, and enjoy every minute of it. Maybe go to Home Depot for project supplies...if there's time.