Although I recognize it is an integral part of life and learning and being human and everything, I really hate making mistakes.  And I hate hearing about the mistakes I've made.  I always want to explain where I am coming from, why it seemed like a good idea at the time, or why it seemed like a bad idea but I did it anyway.  Sometimes, though, I have to accept that I screwed up, and maybe it sucks, but no amount of explanation will change it.  I don't know how yet.  I want to teach Ramona to feel better about making mistakes than I do, but I don't know how.  If I remember correctly, the speaker at my college graduation was Lani Guenier (sp?) and she spoke about the importance of embracing not only your successes, but also your failures, because both provide opportunities for growth.  Working on it, I'm working on it.