I am not a patient person by nature. And Motherhood has magnified this particular weakness of mine ten fold.
Ok. Maybe a gabazillion fold.
Times infinity. Plus one.
But even though I have a long way to go, I have also come a long way. If you struggle with patience, I hope you’ll glean something from the tricks I’ve employed to keep my sanity.
1. F-O-C-U-S
Just wanting to be more patient isn’t enough. Most of us want our house to be cleaner or we want to get in shape, but wanting doesn’t make things happen. We need to focus. So take a week and focus on practicing patience.
For example, I’ve been doing a Bible study on patience and journaling each day about how well I keep my frustrations at bay. Search google for what the Bible says about patience and anger, along with your Bible concordance, and you surely will be challenged. I also have a chart on my refrigerator where my kids can mark how well I did for the day. Kids are great at accountability.
2. Recognize Your Frustration
Too often we have fully given in to our impatience before we recognize it. By then, we’re no longer thinking rationally and we’re much less likely to act and speak in love. The earlier we can recognize when we’re becoming impatient the easier it will be for us to calm ourselves down and control our emotions. Be honest and open about your weakness, seek accountability from your husband or close friend. The quicker you are to confess your weaknesses, the easier it will be to conquer them.
3. Recognize That Acting Out Frustration Is Pointless
When I notice that I’m becoming impatient, I remind myself of James 1:19-20
“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
It’s such an excellent reminder that the fruit of my frustration is bound to be rotten.
4. Identify Frustrating Situations
What situations tend to frustrate you the most? Running late for events? Kids waking up too early? The need to repeat instructions to a child? Write them down. Keep a running list. Identify trends. If we can anticipate a frustrating situation, we can work to counteract our emotions.
5. Prevent Frustrating Situations
Now that I’ve identified my most frustrating circumstances, I can think about ways to avoid becoming impatient.
I find I get impatient a lot when we are running late. The obvious remedy here is to get started MUCH earlier. Even after 7 years of motherhood, I forget how long it takes small children to get ready to go somewhere. I need to begin getting them going well in advance…even if it means taking the chance that their hair or clothes get messed up before we actually leave and I need to fix it again. The extra work is worth avoiding the likely frustration.
6. Take Time Out
Two year old’s aren’t the only ones who need time out. If I feel like my emotions are getting the best of me, I’ll tell my kids that mommy needs time out and I’ll either send them to their room to play or I’ll put a video on and I’ll go in the other room to calm down.
7. Ignore It
Sometimes the best thing to do is just ignore whatever frustrating activity your kids are doing and redirect to something else. If we’re not going to respond in love, perhaps we should just move on.
8. Fake it Til You Make It
Here’s another silly tactic that totally works. If you’re losing it, pretend you’re being featured in a tv show and every word is being aired across the nation or will be viewed at your church on Sunday. Odds are, you’ll get your emotions under control rather quickly.
This might sound crazy, but sometimes, if I have no other options, I just pretend I’m patient. I basically pretend I’m up for an Oscar and do my best impression of a sweet, grandma preschool teacher. Sometimes all my frustration being channeled into acting, allows me to calm down and then truly feel relaxed again.
9. Pray. A lot.
This is a method of first resort. When I wake up in the morning I pray for a patient spirit. When I begin to feel frustrated, I pray for patience. If I’m having a hard time, I often stop and have my children pray for me.
It is also important to pray for wisdom. None of these tactics is perfect all the time. Pray not only for patience, but for the best response to your children and your own emotions.
An added thought by Lindsay…
10. Review your Mission Statement
When you feel a frustrating situation coming on, take the opportunity to step back and review your mission (if you have a mission statement in written form, post this in an obvious place that you could review quickly). What is your goal in mothering? What kind of example do you want to lay before your children? Take a moment to reflect on the fact that your desire is to nurture and disciple, love and train them to love the Lord. How does my actions reflect on the love of Christ?
Time To Take Action
Let’s all work together today to identify situations that make us impatient and ideas for counteracting our emotions.
If we each share an idea or two, we can all learn from our experiences and wisdom and we’ll be one step closer to being the patient mothers we long to be.
1. What situations tend to frustrate you?
2. What is one way you can prevent that frustration?
Thank you so much for this! I have the hardest time with this and this post has blessed me so very much! I am new to this blog and was looking through some old post and came across this post which had blessed me so! I love this blog! I am a mother of four, we homeschool, I teach Sunday school and sing in the choir! For some reason I have never be a patience person but now I believe if I put these things in action I will be better with it! Thank you again and God bless!
Kat -
A GREAT post on practical ways to grow in patience as we continue in the daily struggle against our sinful natures.
I find I get most frustrated when I have to repeat myself numerous times in order to get someone to do something they’re supposed to do w/o me telling them to. And, that is because I’ve gone lax in my discipline or have been too tired to hold someone accountable to what I’ve said, etc etc. It’s my weakness when other things are causing me stress.
BTW, I would LOOOOOOVE to see a Mommy Chart (or whatever it’s called). I’ve never seen anything like that and I know my kids would get a kick out of doing that too. And where is the Healthy Snacks to Go ebook?
Thanks again!
Amy
(P.S. – I like to make parenthetical statements too….wait, that sounds a little too much like that line in “Elf”. You know, when Buddy the Elf says to his ‘dad’, “I like to whisper too.” haha Actually, I’m a parenthetical junkie.)
http://worshipwhileiwait.blogspot.com
http://gracefull-living.blogspot.com
wow. this is just what i need. patience (or lack thereof) is, by far, my biggest character flaw (and, as a result, my biggest parenting flaw). I don’t have time right now, but I will be seriously digesting this post later…and working through some of the recommendations. i’ve already written down the scripture mentioned. love it.
thank you.
*sigh* I get frustrated so often. It’s something I am ashamed of really. I try to be patient with my son and husband but sometimes I just can’t hold it in. My son is just a toddler so he can’t help it but I think my husband could benefit from this post too!
Thanks for posting this. It really does help :]
Thanks Kat! Those were very helpful tips… I get most frustrated with my children when they are fighting with each other. Nothing makes me want to yell more than that!
Thanks Kat! I will definitely head over and check out your blog. I’ve been really thinking through this issue lately; it seems to be what I am dealing with most in my motherhood journey right now. I wrote a post recently called “The Grouchy Ladybug” with some thoughts that have helped me endure patiently. http://momsinneedofmercy.blogspot.com/2010/05/grouchy-ladybug.html
I liked your sentence about remembering that nothing good comes from displaying impatience.
Thanks again!
Thank you for this post! The past few days have been a struggle for me to stay calm: my 5-month-old son has apparently decided that when his diaper is off it’s time to kick his legs like crazy. And he’s been really fussy and spitting up a lot. Oh, and did I mention that we’re packing up to move in a few weeks? I’d been feeling like I was going to be sick or scream because it was so frustrating and I didn’t know what was wrong. I definitely need to work on being more patient and not overwhelming myself with to-do lists. Thanks!
I really like all of these suggestions. I find myself on the verge, and I just think I want to end it in a yell. Biting my lip seems like swallowing a lump of coal, but I do it. After fighting hard, I just forget in a bit. And I figure it wasn’t all that bad after all.
The thing that has helped me the most with frustration, is exercise and diet. Really. I have become a totally different person with a gluten-free diet (a whole other story) and a more intensive exercise routine. At first I though, I am being so selfish wanting to do something for only me. Now, I see it as an investment for the family. When I am feeling stronger, more optimistic, energetic and happier, I am a better wife, mom, friend, and daughter. My efforts to be healthy (and really respect the vessel God lent me) is benefiting everyone else too.
This is a wonderful thoughtful post. Thanks!
I completely agree with you. Exercise is CRUCIAL to being a good mom. If you don’t take care of yourself, how are you going to take care of your family?!
Wow Abbie. I’m in the middle of a diet change myself and I’ve been having a similar struggle: my husband isn’t exactly happy with it and doesn’t want to get our son involved, but I know it’s the right thing. I feel God leading me into this. I’ve been struggling mainly with two big questions: Do I follow God or my husband (also commanded by God)? and is this a selfish thing? Your comment here has really helped with my resolve. I know that I know that this is the right thing for my family and I pray that one day my husband will eventually join my son and me. And you’re very right. What will be accomplished is not of a selfish nature. It’s of a righteous nature. When I’m following God’s will, it will benefit the whole family.
Thanks for sharing!
Brittany
love this. needed this. love the “fake it til ya make it”:)
Thanks Kat and Lindsay, I really needed this today. I was just confessing to my husband last night how I’ve been convicted about my struggle with selfishness and my lack of patience. My 9 month old son (my first) has taken to screaming…a lot. I have been trying to teach him sign language to help with frustration, but he isn’t picking it up, and I don’t know how else to teach him that it isn’t ok to scream for my attention or to get what he wants. He’s very strong willed and committed to getting his way (already!) Any suggestions?
Just found as a result of someone else recommending it to a friend on facebook.. score! Loved this post so much, I am going to spend some time reading it again and again, showing it to my husband, posting it on facebook and blogging about it.. so important!
Hi Kat,
I want to thank you for this post and for your transparency. However, I don’t necessarily agree with point #7 “Ignore It”. Doing this in and of itself does not bring peace into our home. Many times I find that the reason I end up loosing my cool with my children is because I have ignored their frustrating activity for too long when I should have lovingly corrected them when they started it in the first place. Proverbs 29:17 says “Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he will give delight to your soul.” I do find it very helpful to take a few moments to calm myself down so that I can approach my children and the situation with the proper attitude, but I would never want to simply move on without taking the opportunity to lovingly train and admonish my children in a given situation.
Ranay, I agree with this completely! I don’t know how many times my frustration could have been avoided by simply addressing the issue at the BEGINNING when it first started instead of letting it continue.
This is wonderful! I have this problem soooo bad as a single-mom. It is soo easy for me to go and lose it. I always feel awful afterwards and end up apologizing to my children. I am going to make a better effort to focus on being a little more patient.
LaToya, We all have this problem. The fact that you know you do it is great… and even better you apologize, it shows humility to your kids! James 4 says “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble”. Keep seeking Him and being humble before God and your children, you’ll get better with the focus this blog talks about every day!!
oh my what a needed topic and such good challenging ideas too. i struggle with the same weakness-actually just blogged about some of it. thx for some new tools!
I am so glad I am not the only mother who struggles with this! Thank you for this post! My husband is the best reminder(but he works most of the day). Last night I was really frustrated, and told my husband “I just can’t do this!” He said “You are right. You can’t, but who is your strength?” He made me put it into words and admit that “Christ is my Strength.” I must say that I am so thankful for a godly husband who loves me enough to want me to walk in Truth and call sin-sin!
My son and I seem to feed each other’s annoyance. Last night was particularly trying – we were both in a bad mood and I just wanted to be alone (which is not possible as a single parent). he was doing everything that gets on my nerves – repeating everything over and over and then over and over and over and over again. I think its important to tell him – I’m crabby but its not you. but he kept being annoying – so we read books.
I had to tell myself to put down what I wanted to do – finishing up of homemade toys for him and read my own book – and just read to him. and then I just say to myself “he is going to repeat over and over – get over it” but its still hard ! but it doesn’t accomplish anything getting mad or yelling. just seems to make us both crabbier…good to remind myself of that too
So thankful for this post! It is so refreshing to see another Christian mother being so forthcoming about this struggle that so many of us deal with. Thanks for the tips! Will do my best to remember these tomorrow morning when my three year old starts the day by screaming and running around the house!
Thank you so much for this post….I needed it! I have become aware of how impatient I am with my children, and I know mine stem from lack of sleep, being hungry, or selfish with ‘me’ time. I loved the part of identifying why you get patient, and which situations. I tend to get frustrated with my 4 yr old when I have to tell him the same thing over and over. Thank you so much. This will be my priority this next week!
I’ve often said that patience is the smallest fruit of my spirit
I’m far better with my kids than with my husband, I hate to say. It’s easier to “fake it” with little ones. The one thing this article helped me with is realizing that mornings are a problem at my house. When my two year old wakes up in the mornings, he says “hello momma, i’m hungry for something to eat.” The thirty minutes that it takes me to whip up a hot breakfast is a stressful time for everyone in our house (especially me!) I think it’s time for me to come up with a better plan for faster healthy food in the mornings. Zucchini muffins, here we come. Thanks for the encouraging words 
Kate
I’ve often said that patience is the smallest fruit of my spirit
The one thing this article helped me with is realizing that mornings are a problem at my house. When my two year old wakes up in the mornings, he says “hello!” then “momma, i’m hungry for something to eat.” The thirty minutes that it takes me to whip up a hot breakfast is a stressful time for everyone in our house (especially me!) I think it’s time for me to come up with a better plan for faster healthy food in the mornings. Zucchini muffins, here we come. Thanks for the encouraging words 
Kate
Good thoughts here about anger and patience. I might print this out and process it through after a quiet time this weekend. Thanks for posting about the real struggles of parenting, and giving people some tools to engage with it and bring about change. Obviously, Jesus is the source of our hope and love and patience, and He can bring about true, good, lasting change. Parenting 3 little ones has shown me (again) how much I need Him and His power to work in and through me to do ANYTHING good.
Thanks for the thoughts today.
Just did a post on our site today about how to make make a delightfully fast breakfast that can be devoured on the go, on those days when you are running late. :0)
Here it is:
http://mealplanningmommies.blogspot.com/2010/06/bonus-kids-snacks-breakfast-on-go-and.html
Also, quiches freeze well, and if you can get your darling to eat hard boiled eggs you can whip up a dozen of those at the beginning of the week, and just peel one each morning.
Also, having a “drink this milk, until breakfast is ready” type thing happening might help out as well.
Oh thank you so much for addressing this. This is one of my biggest weaknesses!!!!!!!!!!!
Those of you who say you’re “faking it”. I beg to differ. Sounds to me like you are practicing patience, even if on the inside your emotions scream. You are still exhibiting self control!! GOOD JOB!
Let’s see…something that frustrates me the most?
Little ones who whine. Typically, the toddler years. It starts in the morning (it’s worse in the morning). I have been trying to find things to do to stem off the whining, but they just find new ways or reasons to do it!! IT’S FRUSTRATING! I want to exhibit self control so that I am blameless before my children. Do you know what I mean? There have been times I have been and felt that “blameless” feeling…like I know God helped me through a situation with my children and He kept me calm and it was such a WONDERFUL feeling to handle it with such dignity. To my children, I was blameless. I gave them no cause for anger (Eph. 6:4 & Col. 3:21).
James 1:19-20 needs to be my cornerstone in this area. Because if I am slow to speak, I cannot react to situations. It will allow me to think first and then respond. So, if I can get this into my heart, I can live it out.
Thank you! I believe James 1:19-20 will be a main focus of mine for a while (until it comes natural). I appreciate the challenge and encouragement!
Was wondering if you could let me know what Bible study you are doing on patience.
Thanks for the great post!!
Thanks for this post. I too, struggle with losing my temper and getting easily frustrated with my children. While I agree that ultimately I must deal with this on a heart level and by renewal of my mind and heart through prayer and the Word, I think that these tips are a good way to PRACTICE the virtue of patience. There is nothing wrong with using the wisdom of other godly men and women to become more like Christ. Paul himself said to “follow me as I follow Christ.” This is a matter of working out our salvation and walk with Christ IN FELLOWSHIP, not of trying to merely make an outward change without Jesus and his wonderful Body.
This article discusses how to break oneself of the habit of IMPATIENCE before addressing the cultivation of PATIENCE. I find that when I pray for patience, often God will put me in situations where I must choose to allow His Spirit to perfect that patience in me – so it may sometimes seem that things get worse!
Isn’t God loving when He reveals our sin to us so that we can allow Him to be glorified in our lives as He transforms us into His likeness??
It always goes back to Repenting for our sin and Believing His Word is Truth!
This was wonderful! I’m glad I’m not the only one who fakes it! When my kids frustrate me, I will talk in this funny voice. Only I know that I am covering the screams…:)
I am known for being patient..my MIL tells me and I’ve had parents of my former students tell me, BUT, the week of my cycle, a demon of frustration and impatience comes out of me. It’s crazy! I’ve decided that next month, the week of my cycle, it will NOT creep upon me unawares. The first day, my mom will keep the kids and the next couple of days afterwards, you’ll find us chillin’ by the pool.
Yep, that’s my plan!
I struggle with patience as well. It’s something I’ve prayed about alot but still seem to struggle with. I guess I’m still a work in progress. My kids were memorizing James 1:19 the other night and we read it together right after I finished losing my patience with them. Talk about convicting! The next morning I wrote James 1:19-20 on an index card and I try to read it every day. Thanks for these reminders of things I can work on to be more patient.
I just found your site and I am in love! I became a follower and I have just spent time going over your past pages. Thank you, thank you, thank you for spelling out how to sprout your grains – I always thought it was much more complicated than that! Looking forward to your future posts!
I was never a very patient person prior to my son being born. He was born severely disabled, due to a random gene mutation, and had terrible seizures. He was total care and I realized early on that everything I did for him would take more time. I learned to be more patient over time since he couldn’t help himself. But I also worried about how he viewed me when I was tired (from being up all night with him), etc. I wrote a blog post some time ago called, “If my child’s face were a mirror, what would he see?” It talks about about how when I do things for him, even when I am tired or don’t have much time, that I always want my face to reflect what’s in my soul.
“I needed my face to be a reflection of what was in my soul and not a reflection of my lack of sleep, the difficulty of the task or the fact that I was tired. I loved and have always loved taking care of Dear Son and don’t suspect that will ever change. I would never want him to think that taking care of him was a burden because it is not. It is the most joyful thing that I do and there is nothing I would ever want to do more than that.”
http://dreammom.blogspot.com/2009/03/if-your-childs-face-were-mirror-what.html
For me, imagining what he sees and what he thinks of me as I do the task, was very powerful. Also, when you have a difficult time, imagine what it would be like to view your interaction with your child on tape. Would you appear loving to your child? More importantly, how did you make your child “feel.”
Great post.
Dream Mom,
What a GREAT perspective! I love the idea of imagine our children’s faces as mirrors and letting our face reflect our soul and not our current circumstance (lack of sleep etc.)
Thank you so much for sharing! I’m off to read your whole post now.
great idea. when I was learning how to nurse the lactation specialist would tell me “look at your face, you look really frustrated and that upsets your son” um, yeah, I am!
but it made me learn when my son was very young that it is important to focus on what my face looked like to my son (and all people). so many of us don’t remember to even think of this and yet, that is most of our communication to others.
As an older mom of six, I agree we learn patience (and, it’s a fruit of the spirit). Part of learning patience is realizing that children take time to grow, and it takes time to nuture, and it takes time to teach, and it takes time to…….fill in the blank! So much of mothering involves godly expectations on the part of mom. Allow yourself plenty of margin…in time, in what you expect, in how long it takes, etc. Focus on the godly priorties you have established, and less on the “want” to dos. Disciple your children to obey early in their little lives, and you will all be much happier. God bless all you younger mom!
i generally love every post from this blog. this one, however, i must soundly disagree with.
if you are coming at the topic of patience from a christian perspective (which i gather that you are from #9 and #10) then the biblical perspective would be that change needs to come inward, from our heart, not merely a change in our outward actions. fortunately, this isn’t something God expects us to master/figure out ourselves, He changes us and gives us the power to do it (see, for example, Galatians 5:22-23, “the fruit of the spirit is… patience” this shows that it is God’s spirit that cultivates this in our heart)
with the gospel, we dont need 10 steps to figure out how to be a good person… it comes from recognizing our inadequacy to do it on our own, recognizing why jesus had to die, and then depending on the gift that he gives (not only forgiveness for our failures but the power to grow in christ-likeness)
Sarah,
First of all, please let me make sure you know that I wrote this post. So be assured that you likely will continue to love every post that Lindsay writes. And I’ll do my best to communicate more clearly in my future posts to prevent any possible miscommunication.
You are absolutely right that patience is something that God works in our hearts. I think you’d also agree, though, that we should never give full vent to our sinful nature. While God is working in my heart on a daily basis, I have not immediately transformed into a perfectly and consistently patient mother. It’s a process.
So until “every word that proceeds from my mouth is good for edification” and I walk in love, peace and patience, I’m going to let God fully teach me about self control as well. And I will reign in my emotions, words and actions so that they are in line with what He’s teaching me about patience.
Sometimes I truly feel patient, but other times, I’m really frustrated so then I CHOOSE self control so my frustration doesn’t have a negative affect on my children. Hence, I fake it ’til I make it.
This isn’t a long term solution. It’s a trick to help us deal with frustration when it does arise so that we can continue to respond lovingly to our children and calm down more quickly.
I hope that clarifies things a bit for you. Thanks so much for your input and for bringing it to my attention that I needed to communicate that point more clearly.
kat-
thanks for your reply and clarification. i definitely agree that there are moments that we need to exercise self-control, since we wont have fully arrived at patience until we get to heaven.
in our culture we like to quickly fix our own problems. becoming more like jesus, on the other hand, is a lifetime process and it can only come about as a gift from Him (Hebrews 6:1-3). that is why i felt uneasy when i read your blog, because it seemed a little more us-centered than God-centered, but I your reply has helped me see your intentions better.
thank you!
sarah
I do much better when I read from the scriptures every day and pray for help. Those two simple things, more than anything else, make me more likely to recognize when I’m starting to lose it and stop myself from getting into a yelling contest.
When my older son was a toddler I realized that we got along great except for the two minutes every night that I brushed his teeth. Identifying that frustrating situation led to good solutions that helped our relationship a lot.
I love your “fake it till you make it.” Patience is simply refusing to show your impatience, and as you do that, you actually BECOME more patient!
People will say, “I don’t have enough patience for…. whatever.” But, in my mind, patience isn’t something you HAVE. It’s something you exercise. And then it becomes stronger, like a muscle.
“Patience is simply refusing to show your impatience.”
What a succinct and brilliant way to word it!
I love the muscle analogy too…maybe you should have written this post. Such great thoughts! Thanks!
Great Post and so true. Many times I lose my temper when I shouldn’t and the Lord has been calling me on it. It has been my goal to more patient and I’m doing better but have more room for improvement.
so, so good and exactly what I needed this morning. Thank you!
You’re welcome Heather!
Without doubt, my frustrations increase when I do not get enough sleep. I have always been a lover of sleep and knew I would struggle with the loss of it when I became a mother.
Currently my youngest of 4 is seven months old and is teething and wakes up numerous times throughout the night. All I know is that I lean on the Lord more than ever to make up for my shortfall when I lose my patience. My older children know my struggle as well, but I just realized I have not been asking them pray for me.
Thank you for such a great article!!!!
Thank you for these great tips. I struggle with impatience and anger and have been working on that this year. I find if I am tired or hungry, I am more likely to become impatient and angry so I try to be aware of that. I just mentioned the idea of a mommy behavior chart and my kids LOVE it
. Maybe we will give it a try!
Natalie,
Oh, my kids LOVE filling out our mommy chart.
Great practical post with solutions! Love it!
There have been moments during our homeschool day where one of my children has lost their temper and I have to pull it together myself so we can move forward. I have had to learn extra patience – to breathe – walk away – smile even though inside I’m hot. (this is learning self-control and gentleness too!) It’s been so good for me!
I read somewhere that the definition of patience is “a willingness to suffer.” I just said to my daughter yesterday – be patient – you are only suffering for a moment here! It helps me put things in proper perspective!Great post!
Courtney
Thank you so much! I really needed this post. My children will thank you too!
I really enjoyed this post! Thank you Kat!
I would love to see a post with Lindsay and the other contributing bloggers mission statements (Lindsay, did I already miss your post on this?)
Thank you for directing us to Christ-likeness in our motherhood!
You’re very welcome K! I’d like to see a post on that too.
This was a post that I needed to hear. Patience is something that I struggle with. I have noticed that this impatience can sometimes turn into anger and all my kids see is an angry mom. Thanks so much for the encouragement to be patient.
Awesome post! I need this on a daily basis!! I find myself getting frustrated when I have to tell my kids the same things over and over. Then my mother reminds me, that is what training and teaching is all about. Sometimes it is nice to know I am not the only one who needs to work on being patient! Thanks so much for the tips!!
I tend to get most frustrated when I’m trying to get work done on the computer (ie. facebook
. I’m trying to limit my time on the computer because After the first ten minutes I’m usually not being productive anymore and I’m just being selfish about my time.
I also get very aggravated if I haven’t eaten enough. We have 4 kids and I usually don’t take the time I need to feed myself. And when I don’t, I get extremely grouchy. That’s where the Healthy Snacks to Go e-book comes in…(thanks for recommending it!)
I totally needed this. In fact, I need this to slap me in the face with a bucket of cold water every day! I am sharing this with my friends.
Sarah M
“I need this to slap me in the face with a bucket of cold water every day!”
I love it. Me too! In fact, I’ve made myself re-read this post everyday since I wrote it. Especially, with summer starting here, I’m with the kids that much more and I don’t want to grow increasingly impatient with them.
If I figure out a way to attach the post to a bucket of cold water…I’ll let you know.
This is exactly what I needed. I have blown my top far more than I care to mention. Thank you!