Everyone seems to be in a hurry. When motorists behind me are biting at the bits to go, my not taking a right on red causes them to experience major meltdown. I have had people honk, scream, and do unacceptable things with their hands just to let me know that they have been inconvenienced. Those two seconds that they lost will make such a big difference in their lives. I can only imagine what they will have to do to get back the time.
Being patient is difficult in such a fast paced world, but it is worth teaching our children that sometimes we just have to wait. For the most part, I think that parents do a pretty good job of letting their toddlers know that they have to wait for things, share toys, and take turns. Have a little patience! Somewhere along the line, however, this learning seems to be set aside as children get older. Just think, that person honking at you was once an innocent baby. Okay, that picture is hard to conjure up in one's mind.
At our school, checking out equipment was always a big deal. It was hard to be patient because it was a first come first serve situation. We showed up on inservice days wearing our track shoes because we knew we had to be prepared to fly into action at a moment's notice. We would look into the hall during a boring meeting in time to see a teacher proudly push a piece of equipment to her room. We would all start sweating and worrying. How did she get out? Why wasn't she in the meeting? By the time I got my overhead one year, it was pretty much just a piece of plastic and a flashlight. For this reason, I'm sure that I didn't always model patience.
Patience needs to make a comeback. We would all be happier. On this note, I do have a picture to share that shows more patience than I have seen in a long time.
Waiting for her friend to come home.