I just had a profound thought:
Progress is a yucky word.
"What? No it's not. It means good things are happening, plus it starts with a 'pro.' How can it be a yucky word? You're crazy." Don't go away, it'll be good, I promise. Let me clarify.
Progress is a yucky word for most of us.
Why?
Because we really don't want progress, we really want results* and we want them now.
I'm results focused and find myself feeling like a failure a lot. For example, my house is a mess. "Oh Cool Mamma, everyone who has little children's house is a mess. You're FINE." Yeah.....but is it normal to have stinky laundry waiting forever to be washed? Crumbs from who knows what on the floor? Dirty dishes with MOLD on them waiting to be washed? I doubt it, but who knows? I want it clean and I want it clean NOW. Once it is clean, I want it to stay clean and never have to continue
After I loaded the dishwasher today, I looked at the sink, still full of dishes. My disgust flared and my hopes sank. 'Why do I even bother?' I thought. But then a thought Cool Apa had came to mind; he said, "You know what? Progress is being made. After all, we're working on a lot of things right now: moving bedtime earlier, potty training, Grace teething, but the house is getting cleaner, piece by piece, bit by bit."
Progress is being made. The the thing about progress is that it's full of 'ing' words, not 'ed' words:
cleanING
makING
doING
tryING
All those mean good things are happenING.
I think lot of my stress and discontent comes from wanting to see the 'ed' words come to pass. But life is all about progress, travelING, tryING, doING, continuING. PrayING. ComING unto Jesus Christ. TryING to be better. RepentING when I make mistakes. WorkING on goals. RaisING and lovING my children. ServING those around me. TrustING in God.
Food for thought.
-Cool Mamma
*I know that actually being results focused is a good thing. I know there are seminars and stuff, but I hope you get my point that you get results by making progress.
