Patience has never been a strength for me. I certainly wouldn't classify myself as having no patience, but I have a hard time waiting for things. Idling in heavy traffic drives me bonkers. I feel as if I am constantly calculating all the other things I could do with the time that is slowly wasting away.
I try to check these impulses as much as I can with my boys. Last night, they had set up a battle scene with their Lego minifigures in our upstairs hallway. I asked them to clear a path since it was time for bedtime stories. After first arguing that they had not had enough time to play, we agreed that they could stage a strategic retreat of the figures to defend their home base near the wall. This had the double advantage of clearing a passageway for normal foot traffic. It might have been easier to insist that they immediately put everything away, but I thought that we could work out a compromise that still accomplished the mission.
It's interesting when the roles are reversed. One strategy we often use with the boys is to defer gratification. We don't say no. We simply say that they can't have it now. If they would like to read one more story but it's bedtime, we let them know that they have to wait until tomorrow. After the ritual of begging and pleading, we eventually hold firm. That wait can seem like an eternity to a young boy. I can also report that they almost never forget to collect the following day!
I often forget that for a child a day is a much greater share of their young life. Twenty-four hours seems so long to them. In our high activity world of business, it almost seems as if it is over before it has begun.
I am working to try to temper my impulses while still retaining a proper sense of urgency in my work life. There is a story associated with that, but it will have to wait for tomorrow.
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