Tis the Season for Patience

I will be the first to admit that patience has not always been a virtue of mine. As I've gotten older, I believe I've made some improvement in this area since I understand NOW it's not always about the destination, but the journey. Since Tommy's arrival in our lives almost 15 months ago, and perhaps 9 months prior to that when we found out I was pregnant, I have probably made the most strides in this "development area" of mine. Not exactly where I'd like to be, but I definitely take more time to stop and smell the roses or to take a step back and see how my actions might affect others. Watching Tommy on a daily basis has made all of this much easier - not that I don't have my moments, but I can sit and watch what he's doing forever some days. I don't want to wish any of it away.

Well, maybe the teething. And yes, there are other frustrations, like meal time (sometimes), or getting rid of the morning and nighttime bottles. We have made some progress on the night bottle. We've given him a sippy cup of milk when we get home from daycare and he drinks it when he wants until it's time to go upstairs for a bath or to get his pajamas on. Sometimes he finishes it, sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes the cup comes upstairs with us and he'll sip whatever little amount remains and be content. The morning bottle is another story...tried the sippy cup yesterday and you would have thought he took a faceplant like he did a few weeks ago. So we'll be patient and eventually we'll be able to retire all of the bottles.

LOVE this jacket. As do all the teachers at daycare. It's like a wrap, and one side velcros to the other. Much easier than the bulky zipper jacket, featured below.

Orange zip up jacket from Osh Kosh B'Gosh. Great for playing outside on a nippy late autumn day, but not so great trying to squeeze a child wearing one into his carseat.

Today I had one of those days that it seemed like everything that happened tested my patience. Halfway to dropping Tommy off at daycare, realize I forgot my gym bag. Reason I was doing drop off was so I could go to the gym. Made a "deal" with myself that if I got out of the building before 8am, I'd drive home to get the bag. The deal worked out, gym bag retrieved, and I somehow was still the first one in my office today, a little late. I got asked to sit in on a noon meeting that threw me off since I hadn't brought lunch...and no lunch was provided in the meeting...and while I was out grabbing lunch and a Starbucks (for my boss, not me...he's addicted to their iced teas!), I found someone's phone in the parking lot of Target (where Starbucks is). I turned it in to customer service, and 15 minutes later when I'm back at my car, the woman next to me is frantically looking for somthing, and it turns out it was her phone. I offered to run back in and get it for her, as she had a 4 month old in the car, and was in a panic because she needed to get her daughter at school. Even though it was the SAME girl I handed the phone in to, and I told her the story of how I found the woman and I was doing her a favor, they would not give me the phone. Said she had to come in and identify it. A manager came over, who called security (not on me! I wasn't making that big of a stink!) to take the phone to the woman with me for her to ID it. We get out to the parking lot, and the guy just hands her the phone. No questions asked. I wanted to yell after him, "hey, I thought you were supposed to play 20 questions!" But I swallowed that thought before it came out. I tell the woman why it took so long, and apologize, but she was so grateful she was almost crying. That made all the frustration at the situation very worth it to me.

There were a few other things, like finding a premio parking space at Kohl's after the Target incident but giving it up to an older gentleman who must have backed up the parking aisle 300 feet so the woman in that spot could pull out...I made the turn from the road into the aisle and see him coming. I'm obviously right there at the spot and can easily "beat" him into it. But something in me told me to just drive away. And I'm pretty sure I got behind every slow moving vehicle that was on the roads today on both ends of my commute. Also realized my car was almost on empty on the way home, which is odd since I rarely let it go below 1/4 of a tank. I sighed after each situation, and told myself, you are exactly where you are supposed to be...and if that's in traffic, that's where it is. Of course, I'd prefer to be home already giving Tommy his bath, but Daddy had that under control...he even remembered to put the lotion on him without me reminding him...I could smell it all over Tommy when I finally did get home!

Tommy is introduced to the Christmas Tree; he was too young last year to appreciate it much, though I do remember him liking to look at the lights while I forced tummy time.


Sporting the Christmas pajamas

I can't wait to pick up this little boy every night (or get home to see him)...that's one thing that having patience does not apply to...and I think you understand why, looking at this cutie! Crazy days like today are always made better by this sweet, smiling little face.

Today was not a bad day. It was just a weird, crazy day, where every situation seemed to have something that either tested my patience or was frustrating me. Today I was able to take a step back and think about how I was going to react. I like to think Tommy is the one who has influenced this in me...and I'd like to try to do better being patient so that I'm setting some sort of an example for Tommy. At least he isn't modeling my behavior when it comes to all the fruits he eats...because Mommy is not a fruit eater!