I am relearning patience at the hands of my two year old. Here I was thinking that after my 26 years of living I already had a pretty good handle on patience and how to use it, then Monkey turned 2. Suddenly every day is a whole new lesson in staying calm, cool and collected.
Where did Monkey’s sudden need to dress herself from head to toe come from? I have no idea but I do know that although she can do some of it by herself she usually just ends up screaming at her pants, and her shirt, and her socks, and her shoes out of frustration.
It is not unusual for getting dressed to turn into a half hour (or longer) event. Here is the kicker though, she gets so so frustrated with her clothes when they don’t do what she wants them to do but she will not let me help.
At all.
Taking a half the morning to simply get dressed is not a huge deal unless of course I am just trying to get us out the door to go somewhere. This is when my patience boot camp takes place (or at least part of it).
It takes patience to try to talk a scream toddler down.
It takes patience to not just get in there and Put. Her. Clothes. On. Her. Myself. (all said through clenched teeth).
It takes patience to even begin the process when you know what is coming your way after you pull the clothes out of the dresser drawers.
I know this is all a part of Monkey growing up, testing her boundaries, learning to be independent and self-sufficient, and I know that this will pass ( at least I am hoping this will pass).
Knowing these things and reminding myself of them are one way I can keep my cool. That and chocolate. Oh, and beer sometimes too.
But seriously, some days my patience wears a little thin and I get a little tired of getting reprimanded and told some form of “I do it all myself Mom!”
Last I checked I’m the mom little miss.
Which basically means I have to keep practicing my patience and letting her teach me over and over how to remain calm. When it is all said and done it is my job as a mom to let her find her own way, I just wish she would let me help her a little bit. I am pretty sure I will be saying the same thing during her teen years too.
