Patience patience and add a little more patience

We went to the park earlier today. Mackenzie has become quite comfortable playing on playgrounds in general. But she does tend to avoid certain areas (or asks for our help on monkey bars, a small wall climb, fireman's pole, etc). She doesn't become frustrated often and honestly, I am the one who loses patience more than I would like to admit. I wish for her to have certain things come easier to her. But the reality is, every one of us struggles in some way or another.

Several weeks ago we went to the same park as we did today, and I ended up posting this on my personal IG/FB. My feelings from today are identical to this one.

“Earlier today Mack watched kids rock climb at the park. She decided to give it a try. She continued to watch kids climb up and down it while she tried several times (making it clear she wanted no help from me). She got scared when she first got off the ground. But she kept trying. And even though she decided not to go much off the ground, she looked at me and said, ‘Mommy, you have to take a picture to send to Daddy. Look what I did by myself!’ Thanks to Mack and a friend for reminding me to focus on Mack’s individual accomplishments and not what others around her are doing.”

Today I sat on a bench while BJ played with Mackenzie. And I was able to sneak a video. The video is almost 3 minutes long (but worth every seconds of watching!). It shows Mack trying to balance herself from going from one round 'stone' to another. And it shows her wanting to do it all on her own. I admit- I wanted to go give her a hand to help her to the next (I love how patient BJ was the entire time!). At one time she did hold onto his hand but only to figure out how to balance better. 

And just like always, Mack's excitement when she accomplishes this makes me so proud! She continued going back and forth the two to the point where she was doing it with quite ease.

I think I started off Mack's life with a lot more patience than I have now. I've spent this evening looking at videos pertaining to Mack's progress from crawling to walking. And I noticed how patient I was in the videos. I will post a few videos below (and share links to more videos in case you're interested- which I think they're worth checking out:)). 

Mackenzie started 'crawling' around a year old. She scooted on her belly (she was over 18 months old when she was crawling the 'typical' way). 

She started pulling up in her crib at 18 months old. 

And soon after she started to be able to use a toy walker to take a few steps (Walking with toy walker - 18 months old). Fast forward 4 months and she was getting steadier while using a toy walker (Walking with toy walker- 22 months old). Then came cruising around her pack-n-play (Cruising 24 months old). 

To taking her first steps at 25 months old!

It took her a few months later to comfortably walk 10+ steps (Walking - 28 months old), then a month later she started walking from room to room (Walking around the house- 29 months old). 

At 2 1/2 years old (at the end of a 10 day vacation at the beach) Mack decided to take off on the beach). 

I share all of the above (partially because it's helping me remember some key milestones) but also to show the progress it took Mack to go from crawling to walking. I could continue sharing videos from the time she was 2 until now (I'll save that for another post:)). 

And all of this progress took patience on her end and on mine. Parenting has been a journey for us. It has had it shares of excitements and frustrations. But today I was reminded that asking God for a little bit (and sometimes a lot) of patience will go a long way. It will help keep our focus on Mack as a person and where she's at in life (not where society expects her to be). And it will make our journey quite enjoyable. I was reminded, while watching her today at the park and then watching these videos, how enjoyable it has been watching Mack hit so many milestones all in her own time. 

No matter how fast or slow a child progresses in any given area, we need to make sure to always cheer them on. To teach them to have independence and determination. To celebrate each and every milestone- no matter how big or small they may be. To lend a hand when needed but to not be so quick to lend a hand too soon. And to have PATIENCE.