I’m visiting my mother. I cannot ask for (nor, bejebus, do I wish to ask for, or have) a better opportunity to practice the virtue of patience. I love my mother, but dear-holy-wild-caught-salmon, does she press my buttons!
The woman DOES NOT STOP TALKING. She verbalizes EVERY SINGLE THOUGHT. Literally.
“Did I put my make-up on? Yes, I did.” Yippee?
“I just sat down and my phone isn’t here.” So… get it?
“It’s three o’clock. Did you know it was three o’clock? How did it become three o’clock? I don’t think it should be three o’clock.” Is there a point?
I understand that my mom is getting older. I get that she misses me terribly since I live halfway across the country. She is – I dare to pronounce – lonely.
I realize I can nurture more empathy, more tolerance and more acceptance.
I must BREATHE. Deeply. Repeatedly.
And then, do it again.
Because I crave some quiet. I stare enviously out the window at the gently falling snow. Those snowflakes understand silence.
by LinBow/flickr
I breathe again.
What really matters is that I love this woman. She loves me. And we have a short time together.
I am going home to blessed silence in a few days. And I will probably miss the chatter.
All I need is a little patience.
What do you do to gain or restore patience?
Katherine Herriman
/ January 6, 2010I can completely relate to this. My mum is exactly the same and I’m a fairly quiet person. It’s exhausting. And then I feel like a bad person for getting annoyed. No tips on how to be more patient, I’m afraid. Let me know if you find something that works!
.-= Katherine Herriman´s last blog ..The Big List of Dreams =-.
emmajames
/ January 8, 2010Katherine: Taking deep breaths, bringing air into all the places I’ve tensed up, has been a great solution. Also, getting out the house, even for a walk around the block, helps too! Glad you can relate and hope you find your own way through it. But remember, we’re all just human.
Katherine Herriman
/ January 7, 2010I just remembered! I do have advice for talking to talkative types in general though:
Do share your interests with them.
If you don’t, they’ll talk your ear off.
Don’t feel bad when you interrupt them to speak.
If you don’t speak up, you will never get a word in edgewise.
.-= Katherine Herriman´s last blog ..The Big List of Dreams =-.
emmajames
/ January 8, 2010Katherine: That’s good advice, especially since, when I get annoyed, I tend to shut down and tune out. Thank you.
Dian Reid
/ January 7, 2010deep breaths. and love. lots of love. in every response to her you can muster. and more deep breaths ‘o)
.-= Dian Reid´s last blog ..Mid-Week Awareness (More of That #Mindfulist Stuff) =-.
emmajames
/ January 8, 2010Dian: You and I are SO on the same wavelength with this. I completely agree.
whollyjeanne
/ January 9, 2010sounds like you were adopted, too. it’s the only explanation we’ve come up with here to explain these vast (and similar) differences.
.-= whollyjeanne´s last blog ..snow =-.
emmajames
/ January 9, 2010Jeanne: ROFLMAO Thanks for that
LA Cochran
/ January 12, 2010When I am around people that talk constantly, I excuse myself to use the bathroom. Then I stay in the bathroom for a good five minutes enjoying the quiet. Often that’s enough to refresh my brain.
.-= LA Cochran´s last blog ..Assorted Flotsam =-.
emmajames
/ January 14, 2010LA Cochran: Great advice! Although it can lead to awkward conversations about constipation and/or reasons for frequent urination, both of which are discussed with alarming frequency already in my family. *sigh*