Friday, March 2, 2018

Hurry Slowly {#sol18 day 2}


I don't think anyone in my younger years would have described me as a patient person. Antsy? yes. Wanting, no NEEDING answers RIGHT NOW?  yes.
But patient?
Not even close.

I'm learning. The Universe has giving me many opportunties to learn.
I first heard the term Festina Lente in a book.  (imagine that! you can read a blog post about it here.)
It resonated with me immediately.  I knew I needed more of this ability in my life.
Recently I heard about the Hurry Slowly podcast. Again, I was drawn in immediately and am now a regular listener.

I learned some level of patience when I first started teaching.  Kindergarten babies require it, but they are so darn cute and made from pure spun sugar, so its easy to be patient (well, mostly.)
Then, I learned a bit more while working at a middle school.
Um...yeah.
Not so much spun sugar, but I so totally empathized with the sheer heinousness of being a middle schooler that I found some more patience way down deep inside me.

I thought I had arrived.
I thought wrong.
I am learning the true meaning of patience, and of what it means to hurry slowly right now.
Much of it isn't my story to tell.
Well, it is, but mostly I can't tell my story without spilling tea that isn't mine.
I will say this...
Being the mom of a chronically ill kiddo is not easy.
We got used to the lovely ease that is remission and this autoimmune flare-up has hit us all hard.
I often don't know exactly what to do.
What's best.
What the right thing is.
I'm flying by the seat of my pants here.
I've missed more work this year than I ever have before. I'm totally out of days.
My kiddo looks perfectly normal.
She doesn't look sick.
Most folks find this difficult to wrap their heads around.
We have had the coldest, most rainy season on record in my area.
We've had summer band with intense Texas August heat and too little water allowed.
We've had starting high school with all it's stressors.
We've had folks we thought were friends show their true colors.
We've had hard, hard things.

I'm learning it is often best for me to not force it.
The Universe is teaching me to breathe and take a moment before jumping to conclusions or decisions or a new gallon of Blue Bell's Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.

I'm a work in progress, y'all, but I'm learning to hurry slowly.

Festina Lente. 

8 comments:

  1. I haven't been a big podcast person, but this one sounds intriguing. I will look into it. Thanks for including the link.

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  2. Thanks for the link to Hurry Slowly. Just checked it out. I saved it in Pocket. That means I really may do it!

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  3. Parenting a child who experienced childhood trauma is my invitation and daily reminder to grow in patience as well. (I love the Hurry Slowly podcast--and also her newsletter which is full of great links. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter if you haven't yet.) You have turned this very hard experience into a beautiful and patiently paced piece of writing.

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    1. thank you---and I'll check out that newsletter!

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  4. I don't know about Hurry Slowly or Festina Lente, but it definitely sounds like something I could use. I'm sorry your child is struggling, I know it's hard and exhausting. Like Elisabeth, I parent two sons who I adopted from the foster care system, and it's a hard, hard road. I wish you peace!

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    1. Peace to you, as well. May we all have more of it in our wonderful lives!

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  5. Great post much appreciate the time you took to write this.

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