Oh, Dear Lord, Grant Me Patience
Let me begin with this heart-felt sentiment… I LOVE my child. I love her more than anything.
Now, that being said, when she turned four, it’s like someone flipped a switch and she has not stopped talking since. I didn’t mind the constant talking for a while; she would make the cutest vocabulary mistakes that made for precious stories. But now her vocabulary has expanded, and she often tries out new words that make absolutely no sense. That’s fine, except when you try to correct her, she ARGUES about it.
I know my mother is doing a happy dance right now.
I find myself losing patience more often… usually to the point where I have to close my eyes and take a deep breath to keep from snapping at Alex. Her reckless disregard for words describing time are both confusing and frustrating, as is her utter lack of patience. So tonight, I am ashamed to say, I lost it.
Alex was in the bathroom playing in the bathtub while I sat at my office computer trying to knock out some albums, but she continued to talk despite the distance. If I do not answer immediately, I get a volley of, “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” until I answer. However, when I would answer, I could not hear what she was saying. So I would yell back, “Wait a minute, I can’t hear you!”
But she would not wait. And here they came again.
“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”
It was like fingernails down the blackboard.
“ALEX! I SAID WAIT! I CAN NOT HEAR YOU!”
Finally, the silence I had craved settled upon my household. I felt a little guilty, because that tone usually makes her little face well up and her lower lip pucker out, but in my selfishness I just wanted FIVE MINUTES of FREAKING QUIET. So I took a deep breath and enjoyed it….. as it stretched on…. a little too long……and then the guilt set in. What if I’d really hurt her feelings? Suddenly, I felt horrible. I waited a moment before calling out:
“Alex? What are you doing?”
“WHAT DID YOU SAY MOMMY? I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”
Forehead into desk.
Smack.