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I found myself feeling rather irritated with Grasshopper today. She tends to be very slow, and today it seemed that frequently she was purposely making the entire family wait. I scolded her, and at one point we all slowly walked from the car, leaving her still sitting in the car until she realized that she was alone there (though we were only 15 feet away and always kept her in sight).

Then this evening, I was on the computer when Grasshopper asked me to read to her. I happily agreed, but I took a couple of minutes to finish what I was doing first. At that moment, it dawned on me that Grasshopper has never complained about me making her wait. On Sunday, for example, while most other parents are dealing with kids who are whining and complaining about waiting to go home, my Grasshopper is patiently waiting, or talking with people (anyone, really) or playing with her brother to pass the time. Moreover, I as I write this, I am realizing that whenever I interrupt her to do something for me, she nearly always complies immediately and without a fuss.

Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.

Luke 6:42

Wow, it looks like I have some work to do (walking out with head hanging).

Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.