A Reminder to be Patient

We’ve been busy lately. When are we not busy?

While driving the kids to one of their many activities and needing to pick up a couple more kids to take along I found myself behind the slowest drivers ever. In all lanes with no way to pass.

Come to think of it, this has been happening all week.

Maybe it happens more than I realize. Sometimes life moves fast and there is an expectation for everything and everyone else in the world to keep up.

Reality check.

Everyone else is living their own life at their own pace. Some people move fast and urgently, some at a slower, more relaxed pace.

My preference is the relaxed pace, but my life doesn’t always allow me to take as much time as I’d like.

Stopped at a stoplight I took a moment to close my eyes and reel in my haste.

1. I couldn’t will traffic to move faster, so why fret about it.
2. Being a couple minutes late wouldn’t result in the end of the world.
3. Next time I’ll prep the night before and get things moving sooner so we can adjust our schedule for traffic better.
4. I enjoy driving. It usually relaxes me. Other than some slower moving traffic, there was nothing happening that needed to get my anxiety up. I shouldn’t let the behavior of other people affect my reaction to things.

For the rest of the drive I told the kids I needed a few minutes of my favorite music. We listened for a bit, then started singing along altogether. Following that we had some fantastic discussion about the random thoughts popping into my girls minds.

The quality time with my kids was a much more productive use of my time.

In the end, we were just on time.

Sometimes I need that reminder to be patient. I also need to be reminded to take responsibility for my own actions rather than trying to blame others.

Honestly, if we had been late would it have been the fault of slow drivers or my own for not preparing and getting out the door sooner?

How do you handle rushed situations? Is there anything you could do to improve? Do you have any advice for others to avoid being rushed? Share your thoughts in the comments below.