Patience

Dear Son-

I have never thought of myself as a patient person. After all, my parents weren't exactly the best example of being patient. So how did you get so patient? You must have learned it from your mother. This morning you come toddling into our room with pillow in tow and stand there. You simply say "up" waiting for one of use to help you on the bed. Which is actually pretty weird because you can climb on the bed yourself and usually do. Your mother and I are pretty much dead to the world and five minutes go by before I realize you are still standing by the bed.

I sit up and you start telling me about your pillow and how you peed. The sudden realization that I had given you half a bottle of Gatorade right before bed came to mind. I hadn't even watered it down. Now I know better than to do that because that stuff make you pee like a race horse. It all became clear why you didn't climb into the bed, because your diaper leaked and you were wet. I get up and walk over to you and thankfully you were only a little damp. I change you and put you up in bed with us.

Then you need your pillow. Now, I completely understand having a security pillow because I did growing up. Actually, its not the pillow itself, but the pillowcase. So I go back in your room to see how wet you pillow is, but it was gone. Instead it was back in our room waiting even more patiently than you by the side of our bed. I pick it up and your mom starts to mumble something about how she gets a laugh every time I have to go find your pillow because its my fault for introducing those special pillowcases to you because you won't sleep on anything else.

I don't blame you, I haven't slept on anything else for 30 years. I even have to take my own pillow on vacation. It all has to do with having a cold pillow. (Did you know there is a Facebook group for people that flip their pillow to the cold side?) I have to have those silky pillow cases, because they get cold faster. Remember, I have no patience. I don't want to wait for a cotton pillowcase to get cold. It's also why I always sleep with 2 pillows, so I can switch them out if one isn't getting cold fast enough.

So from your mother you have learned patience (except when you want apple juice, then we better move heaven and earth, but that's for another letter.) and from me you have learn the joys of sleeping on a cold pillow, and we both know which is more important.

Love,

Dad