Where's the guidebook?

Years ago, before I had children, I taught parenting.  Essentially my premise was: step back and take a moment, don't be influenced by what others think and go with your gut, there is no guidebook.  Now, ten years later, I wonder, where is the guidebook?

Like the sannyasi who meditates in the cave all alone to abolish anger, then goes down to the marketplace and finds himself immediately angered by the other people, I am away from my two and a half year old for a week and think I am ready to deal with her.  I am almost immediately impatient with her being on another time zone.  I find myself getting irritated, making her tense, and making her tantrums last twice as long.  

HELP! What happened to all of my yogic patience?  I want to say that it is because I am trying to teach her how to act in front of her grandparents, but the reality is that whenever I have my own agenda, ie., getting to the park with enough time between now and nap to really enjoy the swings, I get uptight.  

Wow! That says a lot about me, I thought it was just when I wanted to get everyone off to school or I didn't want to dawdle on six flights of stairs.  Even when it's time to have fun, I am totally uptight.  I have years of yoga practice to do in order to learn how to be present and to not be so uptight.  The problem is that somehow I have to accomplish all of this within a few months so that I don't continue to adversely affect my daughters.  

Om Mane Padme Hum.  The jewel is in the lotus.  Out of the mud grows a beautiful and pristine flower.