One Minute Won't Kill You

I've always thought of myself as a patient person, but I'm afraid I may only have that gift when I'm away from home.  I'm extemely patient when other people's kids are being noisy at a restaurant, when I'm driving behind someone going 10 mph below the speed limit, when I'm showing a confused coworker how to do something on the computer, etc.  For some reason I tend to leave my patience at the door when I come home.  I'll be getting breakfast ready in the morning, running around like a chicken with my head cut off, and my husband will come over and give me a lingering hug and kiss.  I will instantly stiffen up and only be able to think about all the things I should be doing.  When I'm getting our five-year-old daughter ready for bed I practically act like a drill sargeant, expecting her to do each task as quickly as possible with no silliness.

I hate it that I do this!  But I find myself doing it all the time.  I've got to remember that one minute won't kill me, make me late for work, or make the kids go to bed late.  When you're in the middle of a minute it can seem like a lifetime, but when you think of how little one minute takes out of the 1440 minutes in a day, you really can spare one minute here and there to stop and enjoy life.

From now on when my hubby stops me in the kitchen with a hug and kiss I will make myself relax and melt into his arms.  I may even hug him for two minutes.  The next time I'm getting our daughter ready for bed I'm going to make myself relax and be silly with her.  One minute won't kill me!