Patience

I should know better than to pre-judge anything or anyone. The dinner and lecture last night were really enjoyable! Everyone was so nice and very interesting. It wasn't snooty at all. Just lots of smart people with lots of fascinating stories to tell. The food was good, too. It wasn't much of a date because A and I both ended up talking to other people more than each other, but that's okay.

Today was a bit of a challenge. Church was great, which definitely helped me stay sane the rest of the day. We met our friends for breakfast at the diner around the corner, and R was very squirmy. He needed to be outside and to run and climb (we did that afterwards). I can deal with the squirminess, and I expect it. But when will this boy stop throwing food? He doesn't just throw it - he mashes it up between his hands and crumbles it into tiny pieces that go everywhere. It drives me insane. Hmm - that's probably why he does it, isn't it? :-)

The food is what makes me nuts, but R has been throwing everything lately. Sand from the sandbox, water in the bathtub, sidewalk chalk, toys, etc. And, he dumps things out for no reason - the container of bubbles, his milk/juice/water. Is this just what boys do? Is it a stage?

I hate being a cranky mommy. I hate saying "No" all day long, and I'm sure it's no fun for R either. I try to pick my battles with him so that his life isn't just about what he can't do. And I call on God to grant me patience a lot.

Of course, I try to be positive and call attention to his good behavior and have fun with him as much as possible. Today, he put his shoes on all by himself and tried very hard to do his socks as well, he made up a song about the "sock fuzz" between his toes, and he wiped up a spill on the table. Together, he and I laid on our backs in the backyard to look at the sky, we started digging a new flower bed and found an earthworm and talked about what it eats, and we listened to a woodpecker's tapping. When we were kicking a ball around the backyard, R stopped and announced, "Actually, we need to rake now" and then he went to get his rake out of the shed and started raking the dead grass out of the lawn. We played with Colorforms (thank you, Ericka!) and went to the park. And, at naptime, R wanted me to sleep with him so I laid down next to him for "just a minute." I woke up an hour later (I guess I needed a nap, too!) and spent awhile just watching him sleep, with his beloved purple flashlight tucked under one arm and his plastic hammer tucked under the other. :-)

Wow - just writing all that made me feel better!

On another note, my church is encouraging us to read "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Philip Yancey. I bought it today and started it tonight. So far, I like it very much. I also need to do research tonight on composting because I'm not 100% clear on what things should and shouldn't go into a compost pile. The soil in our yard desperately needs some help, so I've been wanting to start composting for awhile. Plus, I really like the idea of producing less garbage for the landfill/incinerator. And, I need to start writing thank-you notes for R's birthday - ack!

Thank you, Lord, for helping me focus on the good in my life - and for granting me patience to get through every day. Help me to raise R to be a good, loving person who doesn't throw food. :-)