Patience is a Virtue - So Get Rid of Those Pet Peeves!

Being a big sister, there are some things you just *have* to chillax about.

Take people running through the kitchen after you've mopped the floor, for instance. That used to seriously get me. Anyone who walked through the kitchen as much as twenty minutes after I had mopped was just too inconsiderate. Didn't they care that I had just spent all that time cleaning all their dirt marks off the floor? Well, anyway, now I've realize that the kitchen floor is there to be walked on, whether it's clean or not. But if you walk through before I'm even done mopping...well, then you'd better watch out.

Another pet peeve of mine used to be finding a bunch of bath toys all piled up at the tub drain when I went to go take my shower. It probably took me an entire five minutes to sit there and hold each candy-colored speed boat upside down to dry, and squeeze all the water out of every single rubber duck, spitting frog and kissy fish. An entire FIVE MINUTES! What are these children thinking? I only have one hour before bed to shower, give myself an organic avacado face mask and put my hair in curlers... and that's pushing it. *Sigh* Now I've learned to pre-make my face mask and lay out my curlers ahead of time, so that I can fit De-Youthing the Tub into my nightly routine. I can't afford an extra five minutes; eight hours of sleep are a girl's best friend!

So I guess you're getting the picture of what we older sisters go through. If you have young siblings, I'm sure you deal with things like this every day! Or even if you have siblings that aren't super young, life can be just as crazy. Either way, it's not always easy to keep a smile on when you have so much insanity going on in the house (toys in the bathtub? Oh my!) But then again, life in general is pretty insane. God probably knows what He's doing... preperation for some future truly hectic time in our lives.

I find it encouraging to know that He will never tempt us with more than we can handle (1 Cor. 10:13). Sometimes I wonder if maybe God thinks a little too highly of me at times, but as you can see I haven't let the bumps get to me yet. Getting rid of my seemingly insignificant, but well-able-to-add-up pet peeves is one of the ways I'm trying to keep it as easy as possible on my part to stay patient.

You know, I seem to be especially weak in this area. Sometimes I can get to the point where the dirty car and the unswept porch just drive me up the wall! I've realized now, though, that caring about every. little. insignificant. thing. is just too much for me to deal with at this point in life. I need to focus on the truly important things in life before I start worrying about immaculate floors and Better Homes and Gardens bathtubs. But maybe you're different. You got this patience thing down in a snap. Well then, I give me some advice, lady! I need some tips! :-)

You know though, achievements get easier to grasp the more you perservere, so maybe I am starting to get the hang of it. ...Waaait a minute. While I was making last night's dinner things did get a little out of control...

After I had stood at the kitchen counter and put some Fiesta Dinner on plates, I turned and started putting whipped cream and strawberries on our Very American Dessert. Over my shoulder I asked two year old Sweetie Pie to put forks on the table (one for each chair, please) and quickly finished my crowning glory. A few seconds later I turned and saw her at the table, picking the cilantro, tomatoes and onions out of her burrito... fork faithfully in hand.

Patience dear sisters, patience.