Patience

(Pictures by Stefan. Also, hat acquisition overseen by Stefan. I claim no responsibility...)


I can sort of understand why it is so rough... I mean, he ALWAYS has this big brother who he can never quite catch up to no matter how hard he tries. That big brother gets so many things he wants... Alex gets to stay up later, Alex gets to go to school every day (oh, how his thoughts on that will change someday), Alex gets to do SO many cool things, and goodness, he gets such amaing toys.

And then there's the fact that his parents insist on serving him vegetables. Every day. And that he sit in his chair while he consumes them. And they now require the use of the potty all the time, and no longer seem to jump up and down and celebrate like they used to. And those nap-times... I know, the horror of being FORCED to take a nap. The world can just be one big, confusing, frustrating place when you are three and trying to sort it all out.

I try to understand why life can be so rough and require the little man to just burst forth with all sorts of challenging behavior... like breaking Alex's legos or throwing things around the house or pouring water over the edge of the tub or throwing tantrums or a million other things that frustrate his Mama.

And those are the things that I keep in mind as I take a deep, calming breath and try to find ways to appease his little, frustrated self without making the situation worse.

So yeah, we've been having some challenging days. Days where we try to find just a little bit of extra patience. Just as with his big brother, three is proving more challenging than two.


But at other times, there are moments that make us laugh and smile and bask in these fun, intense days before they slip by.

Like last week, when we were playing Legos. He asked me to help with him a piece, and so I did. His response:

Thanks Mama. You're a good brother.

A good brother, I questioned. Really? Not a good Mama?

Nope. A good brother.

So there you have it. As my mothering skills are stretched and pulled to accommodate our intense three year old, I've found I have a new talent. As a brother.