Patience please

I'm not a very patient person. I get irritated easily. I snap pretty quickly.

I thought being married was teaching me patience.......and then I had kids.

Logan was the sweetest baby. I remember holding him thinking, "how could anyone get upset at their kids?" I was pretty positive that I would never get mad at him. Then he started running into the street, hitting kids, spitting food on the floor, throwing stuff, yelling in church, rolling on the floor, refusing to eat everything, playing in the toilets, etc. etc. etc. Typical toddler behavior that tries my patience. I find myself wishing that these behaviors would stop.

I remember hearing a talk from President Monson about "finding joy in the journey", and have never forgotten it. I love what he said.

"If you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly."

This thought runs through my head everyday, numerous times when I'm about to lose my patience. I still lose it occasionally, but I think it helps. Plus I can't be mad for too long at these two adorable kids.

(I still have that "how could I ever be mad at you" feeling for Nixon. He is so sweet and laughed for the first time last night. Sweetest sound ever)