I am not going to pretend that having patience with E is always easy. It isn't, but that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone with a child. That said, being patient with her is easier than I expected. I think I am in awe by how much she is learning as she explores the world on a daily basis. While I know it would be much quicker for me to do things such as buckle her in her car seat, I enjoy watching her figure it out and hearing her say "Ellie do it," is pretty cute.
What I was not prepared for was how much patience I would need to have with myself. Before I had E, I was on top of everything. The house was normally clean, I cooked a lot (and enjoyed it), my head was clear and there was rarely a day when I didn't get the things I needed to checked off my to do list. That all changed when I had E.
Not I need to learn to have patience with myself when...
- the house isn't as clean as it should be
- I am too tired to cook dinner
- my lack of sleep means recovery is a lot harder than it should be
- there are still a ton of things on my to do list, but I can't keep my eyes open any longer
- I forget something because I am distracted
- I have to say no to opportunities that aren't a good fit for us right now
- I feel like I can't form a coherent thought because there is a toddler screaming
The more think about it, I guess I am learning too.
