I have been working on this goal for over a year and I feel I am now a gentle mother and have been for some time. Speaking calmly and gently to my children when I am upset is now something I do automatically. I also no longer get myself triggered into being upset when they are upset. Do you know how long I was a mother before I realized that I tended to mirror my children’s behavior? If they got hurt, I felt hurt. If they were crying, I wanted to cry. If they were upset, I was upset. If they were yelling, I would start yelling. For the most part my children have been happy, sunny people, but like all kids they have had their moments of acting out. I have learned to respond to those moments with sincere firmness, calmness and grace. This allows them to have their feelings but reign in the bad behavior. I have become the mother I always wanted to be.