Acting vs Re-acting

Am I aware of when I am re.acting rather than acting out of my intention? Kerri and I had a good discussion yesterday about acting verses re.acting when parenting. Fortunately, as a result of having wonderful parents ourselves, we have been given much (namely Christ). That overflows somewhat naturally into who we are as parents. Yet even when we are at our best we still find that we fall short when we simply react to how a a child's actions make us feel. Kerri mentioned to me that she has been meditating on the Fruits of the Spirit and that her actions seem directed and guided by the Spirit as a result. Our own awareness is heightened when parenting in front of others. This week we are on vacation with Kerri's parents. On one occasion I found myself in the middle of "knee jerk reaction" parenting. Evan was upset because things weren't as they should be in his world. I got angry and quickly and firmly scolded him rather than talking through why he was upset and helping him to grow in his awareness of other peoples needs/wants around him. My own irritability trumped his and I won because I had power over him. Kerri's parent's overheard it and asked me about it. I doubt that in the privacy of my own home I would have given this a second thought. Yet in community I was challenged to BE my intention .