Listen. Patient

A couple of years ago, I was spending some time with my girlfriend, Susan. She is raising her granddaughter, who was 4 years old or so at the time.

We all hopped in Susan's truck to go somewhere one day. We had a specific meet time and we were running late. Isn't that always the way, though? Susan prompted Madison to hurry up and get in her child's seat. Madison muttered something under her breath and continued to dig in the side pocket of the truck, seeming to disregard what Susan had just said.

Instead of yelling or forcing Madison to get in her seat, she leaned and asked, "What is it that you're looking for, honey?" Calm in the midst of chaos. Madison replied that she was searching for her favorite pen. Susan leaned in and helped her look for it, ultimately shortening the delay with her patience. But also instilling a sense of respect toward Madison, because Susan was recognizing that Madison's needs were just as important as our need was to be somewhere on time.

Last Friday, I was in my back yard. It had been a hot day and at 5 o'clock in the evening, was still warm, but tapering off to a nice evening. As I inspected my tomato plants for ripening tomatos, a kid who was maybe 7 or 8 hopped up on the brick fence which parallels the wooden fence of my back yard. He didn't see me, so I waited and watched to see what he was doing.

He walked along the top of the brick fence for a bit until he was behind my next door neighbor's back yard. I heard his dad yell at him, "Get down, son! I don't want you up there." His son replied, "But, d-a-d, there's a huge spider! Look at the big spider!" He pointed up in the eucalyptus tree at a truly marvelous spider and its web that spanned nearly 20 feet. The sun sparkled through the web, causing a magical appearance like you would see in a Disney movie.

His dad, not nearly as enchanted with the spider and its magnificent creation, reiterated his command, "Get down." His son sadly complied.

As I think about those two incidences, I see so many things I can learn. To respect others needs, wait, listen, observe. If you do, you just might see something magical.