Patience while parenting...

Is it so hard to have patience and understanding? Sometimes, I think that these qualities are two of the hardest to possess, especially for parents. Yet, they are some of the greatest traits to have. Patience is what balances our world. We should admire those that possess the most of it, and encourage the rest to gain it “

Our patience will achieve more than our force.” -Edmund Burke

Today, as I am sitting here thinking clearly, and have a peaceful, non-irritated mind set, I think back on all of the times that I have yelled at my children or over reacted about something negative they did. It’s easy for me to realize right now that if I was more patient and understanding towards my children in difficult situations, it would get me a lot further than my sudden outbursts of anger that I ALWAYS regret moments afterwards. However, remembering this is not so easy when I have asked my six year old for the 5^th time in one night to clean his room and finish his homework; or when I have to continuously remind my boys to quit fighting and keep their hands to themselves. Sometimes, I just loose it! I turn into a raging monster that yells at the tops of my lungs to accomplish something that a simple time out could have achieved with a lot less tears from both child and mom. Thinking back to these moments, I see the hurt and scared look on my children’s faces. I don’t want my children to fear me. I want their love and respect.

                It’s on these nights that I go to bed full of regret. I regret that I yelled or said the wrong thing. I regret that I over reacted. Most importantly, I regret that I ruined the precious time I had with my children. I pray on these nights for God to grant me strength, understanding and patience to better handle my children’s imperfections. I pray for the wisdom to choose my battles wisely. After all, my kids are just being kids. As parents we must set the example. If I can’t be patient, how can I expect my children to be?  One day, I hope to wake up and be blessed with endless patience and understanding.  Until that happens I will settle with lessons learned and my search to conquer the art of patience!

                The quote, “Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things” really hits close to my heart.  A lot of times we are so focused on the things we deem important and big, that we forget about all of the little pleasures in life. With working all day and only getting a few hours a night with my family, my time spent with them is more important than ever. I don’t want to spend that time regretting things I did or said. I want to spend it enjoying their laughter and smiles while doing the little things that we love. I want to have patience and understanding with my children because one day, I will want them to have patience and understanding with their children.

Here is a picture of the boys enjoying one of the little things in life last night.....our Friday night movie!!