Skip to main content

Waiting

"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"Just give me a minute to finish this; then I'll get you one."
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
 "What did I just say?  Yes, when I've finished doing what I'm doing."
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"I heard you the first five times, OK?  Ten more seconds."
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"Mum, can I have a drink please?"
"Mum, I want a driiiiink!  Nooooowwwww!"

No, patient waiting is most definitely not a natural human attribute!  Most of us gradually learn to control our toddler tendencies to kick and scream if something hasn't arrived by the time we finish our sentence, but we still aren't often that good at waiting.  Especially if we don't know why there's a delay, can't see why there has to be a delay, and have three other places to be by five o'clock and really, this was the last thing we needed on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.  Don't they know how important our time is???

But, hard as waiting is for us, I think we all recognise that it's a valuable thing to learn.  Sure, I'm a fallible mother.  Sometimes I keep my kid waiting just because I can't be bothered to get off the sofa.  But on my better days...

I want him to learn that other people have needs and desires that are just as important as his own.  So I finish what I need to do before attending to what he wants.

I want him to learn not to be selfish and demanding.  So I don't jump to fulfil his every whim at the first time of asking.

I want him to learn patience and self-control.  So he gets to eat dinner when everyone's ready to eat, not just when he's ready.

And I want him to learn that sometimes, waiting makes a moment even more special.  So that pile of presents is staying tantalisingly under the tree until Christmas Day.

It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Isaiah 25:9

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dove Valley Walk: Going round the bend

Somewhere between Marchington and Uttoxeter, the wiggles of the River Dove stop wiggling west to east, and start wiggling north to south. If it went in straight lines, it would make a right-angled bend. As I'm following the river upstream, this was my last section walking west. After this it's north to the Peak District and Dovedale. here the Dove swings north The main walk of this section was all on the south side of the river. But I also did a separate, shorter walk, to explore the village of Doveridge, and the old Dove Bridge which is tantalisingly glimpsed from the A50. Walk 1: Marchington to Uttoxeter I liked Marchington even more as I arrived there for the second time. I parked opposite the village shop - noting the "ice cream" sign outside for later - and near the brick-built St Peter's Church, with a war memorial built in above the door.  A few streets took me to the other side of the village, where I found a path alongside a stream, then across some hay m
Post a Comment
Read more

Dove Valley Walk: Meeting the Limestone Way

At Uttoxeter my route along the Dove Valley met some official long-distance trails. First the Staffordshire Way north to Rocester, then the Limestone Way continuing up towards Dovedale. Graham joined me on today's walk, which included the Staffordshire Way section and the first part of the Limestone Way. Unusually, it was a one-way hike; we got the bus back.   Uttoxeter to Ellastone Graham and I parked at Uttoxeter train station. It's very cheap for the day if you park after 10am, but I was worried about getting back in time for the school run, so we got there at 9:20 and paid the more expensive rate (still only £3).  We started off across flat fields towards the A50 and Dove Bridge. A group of young cattle gave us hard stares as we walked past. I posted a photo of a wonky gate on the Gate Appreciation Society with the caption "Parallelogate" and it quickly accumulated 200 likes - many more than this post will get!   Passing the old Dove Bridge again , we ploughed t
1 comment
Read more

San Antonio

San Antonio is towards the south of Texas and feels very much more Mexican than American. The balmy evenings, the colourful Mexican market, the architecture of the buildings, and the number of people speaking Spanish around us all added to the impression. The city, in fact, grew out of a Spanish mission and presidio (fort), built in 1718 as part of Spain's attempt to colonize and secure what was then the northern frontier of the colony of Mexico. Texas was then a buffer zone between Mexico and the French-held Louisiana, and Spain was keen to cement her hold on the area by introducing settlers and converting the natives to Catholicism and loyalty to the Spanish government. The missions in general had no great effect, but the San Antonio area was the exception to the rule, growing into an important city with five missions strung out along the San Antonio river. The first of these, San Antonio de Valero, later became well-known as the Alamo, where 182 Texans died in 1836
3 comments
Read more