March 25, 2008 @ 8:11 am | Filed under: Blog, Parenting
Thoughtful and thought-provoking conversation continues in the comments of the patience post. There are two main strands of discussion: one focuses on parenting style, and the other on educational philosophy. Of course, those two topics are completely intertwined—not just in the comments, but in life.
I’m seeing a lot of incoming links to that post, and I wanted to direction your attention toward some of them. Willa’s reflection upon patience vs. acedia is a powerful read: “Is it possible that every morning God says, ‘Do it again!’ to the sun?” An excerpt:
I think the “bad kind of patience” that Melissa discussed relates a bit to acedia, or at least it does for me. Too often, I “serve my time” and endure what ought to be a delight. Thereby I lose the privilege of drawing closer to what I am intended to be. Thereby I close myself into a little box, limiting myself to finding delight in what I naturally have a preference for. Doctor’s offices are one thing, but when I am bored and restless spending time with my little ones, or impatient about having to deal with the 100th quarrel or need in a day, that is something else. Like Melissa, I should know better than to take these joys as a given. If Aidan taught me nothing else, I should have learned that these very repetitions are privileges of the greatest magnitude.
JoVE shares her thoughts on children and housework. Amy has some specific questions about dealing with the daily challenges of parenting; she also ponders, movingly, how “seeing beauty in every face” means looking for it in her own face, too.
I was going to reflect upon these and other incoming links, but my rugrats have awakened and there are bouncy balls whizzing past my head in every direction. Rose is comparing the bounce and arc of balls made of different substances. (In my experience, “child” outbounces them all.)
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I have to fight my rather natural bad temper all the time, and being patient is my constant parenting goal - but sometimes it DOES occur to me that genuine irritability is better than spaced-out lack of authenticity. If that makes sense….
Posted on March 25th, 2008 at 11:50 pmYou know, the three posts you mention are the very ones that caught my eye and touched me, as well.
This has been an amazing discussion from the start, and I thank you for your wonderful reflection that inspired it all.
So much to ponder. So little time…
Posted on March 25th, 2008 at 11:50 pmAmen to that! I often compare my darling children to the bounciest racquetballs.
Posted on March 25th, 2008 at 11:50 pm