Tom Petty was right. The waiting IS the hardest part!
We all spend so much of our time waiting. Waiting for your kids to put their shoes on, so that you can finally leave the house. Waiting for payday, so you can have something besides ramen and kool-aid for dinner. Waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles, so that the teen in your house can help out with all the errands you’ve been juggling for years. Or waiting on a brand new baby, so that you can count toes, snuggle, and move around without a waddle.
Why is waiting SO HARD?! How can we all be better at waiting, especially for the stuff that counts? I humbly offer these thoughts.
Success doesn’t just happen. Realize that in order to be successful, at whatever you’re trying to accomplish, you may need to enlist the support of others who understand your situation and want nothing more than to see you succeed. This might mean you engage the help of an older child to aid the younger child with his/her shoes when it’s time to go, or spend time, money, and energy finding that perfect provider and doula to partner with you in pursuing your birth plans.
It takes patience. No really, LOTS of patience. I could choose to put dinner on a credit card two days before payday, but then I lose out on a chance to figure out ONE MORE WAY to eat beans. This may not sound fun to me at the time, but it can be good! It’s about a choice I make to be content and resourceful. Besides, there are tons of ways to eat beans (or ramen). Similarly, you can choose what appears to be the easy route in birth, but there’s always a cost attached. Find out your options; don’t rush into choices that aren’t the best for you and baby!
Keep your eye on the prize. American ninja warriors aren’t born; they are grown. They learn, and they train. They work really, really hard! There are failures and disappointments. And yet, they continue on. Why? There is a goal, a prize, a joy that is before them IF they overcome the heartbreak, pain, disappointment, obstacle, etc. The DMV is like an insane obstacle course; the prize is your licensed teenager! In the same way, birth is a marathon, not a sprint. Your baby needs you to stay focused on the prize ahead (remember the little toes?), so that you can work through any and all obstacles, confident and prepared.
Our modern culture is all about instant gratification and fast results. This comes at a cost though. Something important has been lost in our impatience. Victory is sweeter when you’ve worked hard for it…when you’ve watched and waited, learned and persevered. All those sweet mamas out there who have waited and waited AND WAITED will tell you it’s true.
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
Until next time…