The Patience Factor

They say you have loads of patience when you're an older mom. I don't completely buy that.  You don't just acquire an inherent personality characteristic merely because you've reached a ripened age. You are either a patient person or you're not. Period. It doesn't matter what your age is. O.K., this is totally my opinion. But I'm sticking to my opinion for two reasons: 1.) because I happen to agree with my opinion, and 2.) this is my blog so I get to write how I feel.  As it turns out, I do happen to be a somewhat patient person...for certain things, that is. I am patient to let things happen, such as grass growing and water boiling. I can stand in line and I can wait my turn. But it turns out that I am thin on patience when my baby is crying at the same time my daughter is singing at the top of her lungs when it's past her bedtime. Such are these trying moments lately that I find my patience being tested. One child's woes are easy enough to deal with. Two children's woes at the same time require the kind of patience that only nuns or pre-school teachers possess. Mothers on the verge of a nervous breakdown sounds all too familiar. And I wonder how women with more than two children do it. Especially when they are close together in age. What's my excuse? Mine are nearly four and a half months apart. These blogs are not intended to be complaint or gripe sessions. I am merely writing out my realization that all-on motherhood is all encompassing. It is a test of our integrity. It defines us, finds out who we really are and what we're really made of. The other night, I juggled a crying baby, then switched to nursing, helped my daughter with her homework, fixed dinner, straightened up, fed the cat, all around the same time. It was like taking multitasking to the next level. I felt I could do anything. Oh, these blogs aren't bragging sessions either. There is nothing to brag about. I am just writing about things that are new to me, then sharing it.  In conclusion, I put myself at about a 6 for patience on a scale from one to ten.  So far, two months and one week into being a mother to two in my later forties, I have found that patience is something I need to count on and turn to every mothering second.