have more patience

my children it seems. My patience is gobbled up by these little girls and I’m very surprised that I get it back. I tried a new tactic with my oldest daughter. We had an experiment on having a “puppy dog” voice all day with her little sister. This means that no matter what the little one says, the older one must always talk in a sweet nice voice. It was pretty amazing to see the reaction of my youngest when she was presented with a nice tone of voice. She ate it up and talked the same way! Not only that, but she was nicer too with less fights.

We talked about how our attitude and tone of voice can affect others and make our lives much easier to deal with. This was great for the next few days, but slowly it wore off. So now I’m trying once again to help her remember that no matter what we are feeling inside, we should be expected to “be nice” to those around us. Hopefully it will soon become more of a habit and she will do it without thinking about it.

Those days where she was nice to her sister made my life a hundred percent better. My patience stayed put and I found myself trying to be calmer and nicer as well (even when I was down or feeling negative).

since I’ve felt the utter lack of patience….

And now it hit me like a freight train tonight. It amazes me how little patience I have when I’ve been stressed, I’m alone taking care of life, and when the kids bicker and don’t listen. Tonight I just had enough of it all and wanted nothing more than a little support. I’ve been trying for such a long time to be the supermom and I realize that I really can’t be like that. I’ve got needs and limits that need attention like anyone else.

There are times I just don’t want to do it anymore, but I won’t let that stop me from trying to make it better. I feel like I need some better ways to cope and deal with my situation. If it were this hard each day, I’m not sure I could stay strong. Feeling sorry for myself never did a bit of good and I try to be understanding of all the crap that comes my way.

I just take another deep breath and remember that I am blessed with many many wonderful things. This is but a moment in the scope of my life. I’m not alone in my situation and if I reach out there will be people there to help. I just need to let them in more often. (easier to say than do)

I exercised my patience pretty well yesterday. Faced with a stubborn 2 year old who refused to listen and go potty when asked, I’m surprised I found my patience at all. I have to laugh now at what happened…My little one would not listen and get down from the table to go sit on the potty. I asked her to go to the bathroom, so she squatted in her booster chair in the kitchen and proceeded to pee. Not funny at the time, but I laugh now because I didn’t overreact to the situation. Hopefully this weekend I can keep my patience so I won’t be stressed by the end of it.

No how…I have failed miserably tonight in having more patience. There must be a big vacuum someplace in my house that is sucking it away LOL.

I need to find a better way to cope with the stresses in my life. Having to take on raising the children by myself (as temporary as it is) has been quite the challenge. I don’t know how you all do it. My children are the biggest part of why I want to have more patience. This is just so much harder to attain right now than I expected.

This week I will write down all the moments I find myself remembering to have more patience, how many times I give my children praise for the good they do, and give myself a break.

I swear that patience is like a finicky cat. There are days it snuggles in and stays peacefully and others when it runs to go hide behind the plant on top of the fridge. Even hugs were not enough today. However, I am realizing that my 2 year old is only testing her limits and that I need to stay calm enough to make sure those limits are not exceeded.

I take a breath. I breathe in. I breathe out.

I need a big sign in each room that reminds me that patience is always within me and that it is mine for the asking if I just stop, breathe and remind myself what is really important.

Ok I’ve seemed to have lost it somewhere between 2 sick children, the constant sibling battles, and waiting for my husband to finish his 5 week training. lol

I’ve been feeling like a crabby patty today and keep forgetting to just take a breather and not let my impatience get to me.

My daughter and I decided that we would each set a goal for ourselves. She would practice having more patience with her classmates and her sister while I would do the same with her and her sister. We gave ourselves until the end of the month to show some improvement and if we do well, then we’ll go out for an ice cream date. We shook hands on it and now it’s time to put our words into action.

patience today sigh

I had a rough day with the girls at each other’s throats and I could barely contain myself from yelling at them all day. I felt horrible inside and searched everywhere for a shred of the patience I usually have. As it turned out, all it took was a few cheek kisses from my girls and their wonderful hugs. I took a deep breath and remembered that sometimes all it can take to regain my patience is human contact.

Next time I lose my patience with the girls, I am going to give them hugs and let myself find calmness in that.

After saying goodbye for at least 3 weeks to the hubby, I am faced with a very big challenge of having more patience more than ever. I notice that when I’m tired I tend to let my patience fly off into the wind. If I can remember to just take a moment before reacting, it helps a lot.

I’ve learned that now I need to teach my oldest daughter how to be patient and that is the hardest part of all. How do you teach someone something that you’re learning to do as well? Perhaps we’ll just have to learn together. This is a life skill that is so important in every aspect of our lives, and I just want her to learn it so she will have an easier time.

My goal for the week: I will find new ways to learn patience and practice them and teach my children. (and continue practicing them)

It’s so hard to learn more patience especially when my girls are arguing and not getting along. Having a 2 year old and an 8 year old brings many many challenges. I have learned that I need to take a rather large breath before I dole out any words to my girls. The calmer I am, the less they react to what I have to say. Lord knows that I’m not always successful and I end up “reacting” to the moment instead of finding a calm way to make the situation better.

Patience is not something I’m good at, but I really want to show more patience so my children will learn by example. If they can learn to have patience, they will be so much better for it. (and so will I lol) ;o)