Oh dear patience, how I long to know you

Yet another post about patience. Do you think it’s been on my mind?

Oh dear patience, how I long to know you.  And bit by bit, thanks to circumstances and life in general, you are becoming a better friend.

I don’t like to admit it much, but yes, I am an extremely impatient person.  I have never liked standing in line, waiting for a bus, putting up with phlegmatic individuals that like to take their own sweet time – and of recent years, waiting for my children to get dressed, brush their teeth and get into bed, finish their lunch before school starts, and the list goes on.

I have, however, throughout the past number of years, asked God to give me patience.  You know, the type of prayer that goes something like this: “Oh God, please give me patience and give it to me NOW.” As my mom said to me once, “Staci, you want it and you want it NOW.”

Now when one asks for patience, one must not think that it will come to them in the wink of  an eye.  It just doesn’t happen that way.  Patience is something that comes, well, patiently.  It is a virtue to be acquired.  It is something that takes time and diligence.  It is a choice. You choose to pursue it because it doesn’t come naturally.

There are consequences that come with acting out of impatience.  I have experienced them one too many times. Being a strong feeler and highly impulsive has led me down some very potentially destructive roads.

I’ve had my hair cut by an unexperienced barber because of my impatience with the salon next door that was taking too long to get to me. I ended up with a horrible haircut that was uneven and a lot shorter than I wanted.

Being a mother of a child with Asperger’s Syndrome, my patience has been tested time and again.  I am a Canadian and my first language is English.  However, I live in Brazil and have acquired a second language – Portuguese.  My children are being raised bilingual and study at a Portuguese-speaking school.  Brazil is about 40 years behind in understanding and dealing with the issue of autism and those who are on the autism spectrum.  I chose not to home school, but to put Cauê in a school that is eager to include those with learning disabilities and those that aren’t ‘neuro-typical’.  He desperately needs the social interaction and I recognize my limitations and lack of – yup, you guessed it – patience.  Even though the school accepts my son and tries to adapt lessons for him and his learning style, I have to invest a great amount of time and energy into helping him understand what is being taught. Apart from his regular homework, I am also teaching him to read in English.  This has added to my stress and tested my patience many times over.

I had a dream recently where I was with my children and we were walking along a quiet residential street.  All of a sudden, Cauê ran ahead, where at the intersection was a busy street.  I called and yelled out to him, STOP Cauê! I tried running after him, but couldn’t catch up on time.  I never saw him get hit by a car or anything like that, but all of a sudden I was aware that I was trying to rush him along and get him to read in English at the same level as a neuro-typical child that lives in an English-only environment.  I knew that if I continued in my impatience and forcing him to get to a place that he wasn’t ready to be, I would end up traumatizing him and killing any desire to read with me.

I am determined to master the art of patience.  And with any art, practice makes perfect. It is something you have to work at.  It is like a talent to be honed.  I read a story once about a great painter that painted a beautiful masterpiece in 10 minutes.  When asked how long it took him to paint it, he replied, “20 years”.

Patience is also a BI-product of wisdom.  Wisdom is a BI-product of life experience.  Life experience will produce wisdom and teach patience as we approach our experiences with teachable hearts.

Do you struggle with being patient?  What have your life experiences taught you?

Interesting read: http://messageinabottleblog.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/more-than-a-bushel-of-brains/

FFTF: Spirit – Patience & not giving up / Body – Chicken Veggie Risotto

It’s Food For Thought Friday.  Food for the spirit and the body.

Spirit

I absolutely love Albert Einstein.  I think much of what he said was absolutely genius.  I mean, he was considered a genius.  He is one of the people from the past that is suspected to have had Asperger’s Syndrome.  So, being that my son is an ‘Aspie’ I have even more of an appreciation for him now.  The following is one of his quotes.

People that have Asperger’s Syndrome tend to become obsessed with whatever it is that interests them at the time.  Right now my son is all into dinosaurs.  He literally becomes one.  I’m teaching him to read in English and I’m using a phonics course online by ‘Clicknkids’.  It’s phenomenal and very helpful in having a structured step-by-step process of learning the language.  However, he started to get really upset and was traumatized by seeing his name on the screen.  I decided to change his screen name to ‘Velociraptor’ and now he’s very happy to continue learning.

I will confess that I am not a patient person, and my experiences with Cauê have just proven that more and more. This quote above speaks to me about patience and not giving up, which is something that is very ‘real’ for me right now.  It’s like the saying goes, “Good things come to those who wait”.

Albert Einstein knew the benefits of being patient. He didn’t expect microwavable results. He knew that if he persevered and lingered in the presence of the problem at hand, he would see good come of it.  That would be his reward.  His answers and understanding would come to him, so longing he stayed with the problem longer.  So longing he was patient enough to wait it out.

Food For Thought:
How about you?  Would you consider yourself a patient person?  What problems do you need to stay with longer in order to see breakthrough?  Are you waiting it out? Leave a comment if you would…=)

Body

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast fillets
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 pepper (green, red, yellow, etc.)
• 2 tomatos
• 1 carrot shredded
• 2 cups shredded kale
• 1 bouillon cube (chicken or vegetable)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon mixed seasoning (like Mrs. Dash or Italian)
• 1 cup long grain brown rice
• a little olive oil
• 3 cups water

Directions:

Put a little olive oil in a small pot, add the rice and mix on low heat until the oil has coated the rice.  add three cups of water and allow to cook (you won’t cook all the way through though.  Just until it’s almost done.)

Cut the chicken in cubes.  Chop the garlic, onion, pepper and tomato.

Sauté the garlic and bouillon cube for 30 seconds in 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large saucepan or wok on low heat.  Add the chicken and stir fry until it’s no longer pink.  Add the onions first, and then soon after add the pepper and tomato.  Stir fry for a few minutes until the onions and peppers are soft.  Add the salt, seasoning, broccoli and shredded carrot. Transfer the rice (almost done) over to the large saucepan/wok and stir in to incorporate it with the chicken and veggies.  Add the shredded kale right before finishing, cooking it just enough to soften it.

Enjoy.  Have a great weekend.

FFTF (Food For Thought Friday): Coconut Oat Cookies and Asperger’s Syndrome

Ok, it’s finally over.  The whole holiday thing.  The business of hustle and bustle.  I thought it was time to get up another FFTF (Food For Though Friday).  It’s been a while.

Today’s post offers a recipe for coconut oat cookies with dark mint chocolate chunks. Can I get an ummmmmmmm? =)  Ok, this one is simple and quick and great alternative to the butter-laden, high-sugar cookies that we are all too familiar with.

• 1 cup whole oats
• 1/3 cup ground flax seed (flax flour)
• 1/3 cup dessicated coconut (unsweetened)
• 1 Tbsp melted butter
• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1-3 Tbsp agave syrup or honey ( or maple syrup -*I can’t it here =( )
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup dark mint chocolate chips or chunks (if you can’t get dark chocolate chips, you can add peppermint extract to the cookies by mixing it in with the melted butter and coconut)

Mix all of the dry ingredients.  Mash the bananas and add to the dry ingredients along with the rest of the wet ingredients.  Mix in the chocolate.

All done.  Simple eh.  You must let me know what you thought if you do decide to make them ok.

Ok, if you’ve noticed in the top right hand corner of my blog, it’s all about the 5 ‘Fs’ – Faith, Family, Fitness, Food and Fun.  Today’s FFTF topic is about Asperger’s Syndrome because my little cutie (6 almost 7 years old), Cauê has it.

Asperger’s Syndrome is on the ‘Autism Spectrum’ and is considered high-functioning autism.  As one adolescent American boy put it, it’s like he’s half autistic, half neuro-typical.  If you were to see Caue and talk with him and see him playing on his own, you’d have no idea that he has autism.  However, after getting to know him a bit and seeing the way he is in school and the way he learns – as well as his obsessions – you would start to think that there is something a little different about him.

I’m not going to share too much on the subject, but I am going to share a really awesome music video that my husband found on Youtube about it.  Please check it out and let me know what you think.  Being that we live in Brazil and my husband is Brazilian, it is in Portuguese.  I have, however, translated it for you to understand the message of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tzHqUtUaA8Asperger’s Syndrome

Translation: 10 things that a child with Asperger’s Syndrome wish you knew…

• 1. Before anything, I am a normal child!!!
• 2. I have horrible motor coordination – buttoning a shirt or tying up shoelaces is a sacrifice
• 3. I have an extraordinary ability to comprehend – I have an exceptional memory to for facts and dates. I can learn to read on my own.
• 4. I am a concrete thinker and don’t understand the abstract.
• 5. I have an extensive vocabulary – I have a pendant, repetitive and stereotyped language.
• 6. I can’t look into your eyes when I speak with you.
• 7. I believe in everything you tell me and I don’t understand irony.
• 8. I can be mistaken as a little genius.
• 9. Please help me with social interactions.
• 10. And above all else, love me unconditionally!
• And just 3 more words – Patience, Patience, Patience!

PATIENCE! Oh my goodness.  I am NOT a patient person.  But I am so thankful that God has given me Caue to raise and love and teach and ‘be patient with’.  God is developing this much needed virtue and fruit in my life through my relationship with my son.

Have you ever heard of Asperger’s Syndrome before? Do you know anybody that has it?  Tell me your experience.