Patience

This is how I am working on this post this morning.  For some reason she is extra needy, and that is okay.  I will cuddle her all she wants because someday she won't want me to.

*Like my messy toy cabinet?  At least I have a GIANT cup of coffee, right?*

Sometimes when I go to dip into my pool of patience, I find that it is empty.  And I really needed a full pool this morning.  On one hand, I kind of did it to myself.  I didn't have my grocery list prepared, I chose to sleep in a little, and I didn't do some cleaning that should have been done the night before.  As a result, I was a little rushed.  But, on the other hand, the boys do the same thing each morning before school.  They get dressed, make their beds, eat breakfast, brush their teeth, get their shoes on and mark off their jobs.  No surprises here.  So, it is a bit frustrating when I have to keep reminding and telling them what to do.  It is frustrating when E tells me that he needs help with his shoes when we are loading up the car to go to school.  What was he doing for the last half hour?

Nagging the boys each morning is an inevitable part of my routine.  What makes it even more fun is when The Peach starts screaming for no good reason.  Well, I am sure that it is a VERY good reason to her, but I can't ever seem to figure it out.  So, needless to say, I needed a full patience pool this morning, but it was empty.

I have been thinking about why it was empty and I can't come up with a very good reason.  I had a fantastic day yesterday that was, for the most part, kid free.  I should have had a pool brimming with patience.  I have been a parent for eight years.  I would think that I would have this patience gig down pat by now.  But I don't.  I am certainly better than I used to be.  My blood used to boil when the boys would start fighting and screaming.  Now it doesn't really phase me that much.

I wonder if any parent has complete calm when their kids are losing it, or not listening, or being rude, or fighting with a sibling.  If there is a parent like this out there, were you born that way, or did you figure it out?

How do you keep your patience pool perpetually full?  Because I know that my kids would love to live in a home where there is no yelling or shouting.   And so would I.