Patience

Last Friday when Mike got home I wanted to yell from the deck "Thank Goodness it is Friday"! For whatever reason it was a long week and my patience tank was empty. I take that back. I know exactly why it was a long week. Jack is in his "terrible 2's", and we are having to discipline. Jack is our strong willed child, always has to know what you are doing, and have an opinion about it. From day one of his life Jack was high maintenance.  Colicky for 6 months, didn't sleep through the night until 1 year, rolled right before 4 months so I could never take my eyes off of him, crawled at 6 months before he was smart enough to know what he was doing, always wanted to be held, and always at my ankles... 

I would like to add that I do not think any child is easy to raise and that I love Jack with all my heart and wouldn't trade him for the world. It is just how he is wired up and God is strenghting my patience, something I have always lacked and prayed about. Love this quote from the movie Evan Almighty:

"Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?" 

Parenting is dirty work. The diapers, spit up, sleepless nights, what pregnancy puts your body through, labor and delievery, snotty noses, etc. But for me the dirtiest part of parenting is disciplining. I hate it when I am the one responsible for Jack sticking out his lower lip and for the big crocodile tears. But I don't want Jack to make anyone else cry. He needs boundaries and limits, right now he continues to test what they are. I am just not a confrontational person and do not like to correct people. I like to see everyone happy and would rather fix a problem myself. So for me to discipline is just plain uncomfortable. It is a big part of my Mom job though so I am just having to get over it and figure out what the heck to do. For now we do time outs and reinforce the good behavior, but I think I need to watch a few more "Supernanny" episodes and get some new moves. I read quotes that say your child acts out what they see, but I assure you I do not go around hitting and kicking things for no good reason. We are all just born little sinners. 

Obviously there is more good that comes along with Jack then bad. Currently I am just struggling with this new phase of parenting. Because Jack is always on the go he is wonderfully adaptable and social. Such a lover boy, always cuddling kissing and hugging. He isn't afraid of much and always willing to try new things. Jack loves to learn; chores, sports things, words, letters, numbers, songs, he loves to see the excitement in our faces when he knows he has done something cool. 

When Mike got home of Friday I took a bunch of pictures, after downloading and looking at them I got teary eyed at how big he looks. Time is going bye so fast and these little years are such a short period in all of our lives. I want to love every minute, even the hard and difficult ones, because they are fleeting and all apart of a bigger picture. 

Every night we just have to pray for Mommy's patience.