Patience

On a "Patience" scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being "The Patience of a Saint", Abby ranks about a 1 (and I may be generous here). In short, Abby has no patience. I firmly believe this is due to both nature and nurture. Jason said just the other day, "She has no patience!" He then turned to me and continued, "That one's my fault - I can't wait for anything." I also think that being an only child has not done her any service when it comes to waiting for things - frankly, she generally doesn't have to. This is something we've been deliberately trying to correct, now that we are seeing some "brat-ish" behavior rearing it's ugly head, so it is a work in progress for all of us.

Now, Abby isn't always a little terror when she doesn't get what she wants - when she wants it, she also has the tendency to dissolve into a pathetic mass of heartbroken weeping. Such was the case today.

Jason wasn't feeling all that great today, and since he needs to head back to work tomorrow (poor guy!) he wanted to lay low. Abby and I were working on our third day at home, and both of us were getting a bit stir crazy, so we took a trip out to see Nana and Papa. Before we left though, they wanted us to bring along Abby's snow stuff and sled, because they were excited to take her out to play. So, I packed up the car and we headed out.

Now, the sled is just long enough that I had to put the seat down next to Abby for it to fit, so she knew, as soon as she climbed into the car, what fun she would have with Nana and Papa. She had a good hour in the car to dream about all the sledding fun she would have. So, when we arrived she was ready to go - unfortunately, we got there a bit early and needed to wait for Papa to get back from the store. This was not good.

Abby, who had insisted on getting the sled out of the car and wouldn't let it out of her sight, didn't like to hear that she would need to wait, so once we got her in the house (with the sled) she sat by the door and bawled....pathetically....as if her heart were breaking....

The best course of action when this happens is to leave her alone for a bit, Abby likes a little time to wallow. Finally, she would take some comfort from me, and an alternative - we'd take the sled into the living room and she could sit in it, watching TV, until Papa came home. With big tears running down her face, she agreed to that, but there was no way we were getting her coat off.

And they all piled in.

Soon enough Papa got home and joined in the practicing that Abby and Nana had been doing in the sled. Have I mentioned what good sports Nana and Papa are? Then, leaving me with a couple of hours on my own (much appreciated, since Abby decided that 4:45 a.m. would be the start to our day today) they left to have some fun.

They came home tired and happy, talking about what a fun time they all had. I thought about mentioning to Abby that it was well worth the wait, but I figured I'd let that sleeping dog lie.

I love the absolute joy on both of their faces!

Good thing Nana can see where they're going!

I think that Nana got her workout today. What a stinker, making Nana drag her back up the hill!

Tire swings are always a good idea!