Raising a child is hard. We’d like to believe that all you need to do is appreciate the miracle of the child and reach out with love at every moment. But of course, there’s so much more to it than that. Parenting skills. Being strong when things go south.
In the “being strong” department, PATIENCE has to be way up there. Remembering that it takes more than 20 years to raise a child. Remembering that now may not be the time to react a certain way. Remembering that this is a child, not an adult, and you have a ways to go before you get to relate to your child as an adult.
Wisdom can help us to remember to be patient.
My top five favorite quotes about PATIENCE…
“There’s a time for all things.” – William Shakespeare
“No great thing is created suddenly.” – Epictetus
“Give wind and tide a chance to change.” – Richard Byrd
“Some things arrive on their own mysterious hour, on their own terms and not yours, to be seized or relinquished forever.” – Gail Godwin
“No ray of sunlight is ever lost, but the green which it awakes into existence needs time to grow, and it is not always granted to the sower to the see the harvest.” – Albert Schweitzer
More about this in my new book: How Your Teen Can Grow a Smarter Brain. Revised and updated!