Patience

I typically base my posts on the chapters I have read that day.  Today I read John 18 and Exodus 39, and this post has nothing to do with either chapter.  In fact, I have also posted this on my other blog, Making Life Be Enough. 

Today is Saturday, which usually means errands.  As a full time teacher, full time mother, and full time wife with no in-home help, I NEED my Saturdays to run errands.  Today was grocery day!  This usually means two different grocery stores, a discount store (Sharp Shopper) and then either Food Lion, Kroger, or Martin's to buy everything I couldn't find at Sharp Shopper.  I plan my meals two weeks at a time, so the list is usually lengthy.  To gear up for the shopping event, I took Devon to the park for about an hour first.

We left home a little after 8.  We had eaten, everyone was in clean clothes, and I even got to shower this morning.  The day began well.

Devon had a great time at the park.  He even willingly got back into the car without a crying fit.  I thought this was on track to be a perfect day!

Boy was I wrong!

With only three aisles left at Sharp Shopper, Devon discovered that I had tossed a bag of peanut filled pretzels in our basket.  His favorite!!!  Thus began the ear piercing, highly embarrassing fit that disrupted the entire warehouse of a store.  He refused to be consoled by anything other than the bag of pretzels that we had not purchased yet.  I am all for opening a snack in the middle of a store, but these are sold by weight.  We couldn't eat from the bag prior to weighing them at the check-out!

To sum up to miserable parts, he screamed and cried while I finished our shopping, checked-out, and unloaded our groceries into the car.  Mostly, I pretended I didn't hear him.  I received a grand mixture of pitiful condolence stares and glares of disgruntled customers. 

Once I got in the car, I refused to open the bag because he had been so ugly.  This caused him to cry for about fifteen more minutes.  I finally told him that he could have them as soon as he showed Mommy how to be a good boy. 

When we arrived home, he looked at me and told me that he was a good boy.  The tears stopped. He said he was sorry, and he was rewarded with pretzels with his lunch!

I thank God for the patience I was able to show, and for the Grace he sends our way when we need it!  I pray that I handled the situation in a way that will show him a fit doesn't get you what you want, being nice will. 

Parenting is hard.  Only with God's help do any of us make it through!