Last night around 2am, my daughter came to my door crying. She does this often. Some nights I will walk her back to her room, get her cozy, tuck her in, do the whole goodnight routine. Other nights I am like, forget it, just climb in the bed. Last night was one of those nights. I did not have the energy to walk her back, so I said, “Come on Peyton, get in the bed.”
So there I am, laying there with Peyton snoring directly in my face, and I start thinking about how long this journey has been for us. There was a time when I couldn’t even get her to sleep in her own room. I could not even get her to play in it during the day. And now she sleeps in her room most nights all the way through the night.
That did not happen because I forced it. It happened because we moved at her pace.
Some parents would be so over it by now. And do not get me wrong, some nights I am too. But truthfully, it has been a lesson in patience. Real patience. The kind that does not come with threats, timelines, or attitude attached.
And it made me think about how I wish people gave each other that same kind of patience in real life.
Instead, people love to say, “Take your time,” but what they really mean is, “Take your time as long as it looks the way I want it to look.”
They will say they are being patient with you, but the energy changes when you are not moving at the pace they decided is right for your life. Suddenly there is pressure. Suddenly there is distance. Suddenly you can feel the invisible clock.
But real patience does not keep time.
Real patience understands that growth looks different for everyone. That healing is not linear. That progress does not need an audience or a deadline.
Just like Peyton. She did not need to be rushed. She needed to feel safe. And once she did, the change came naturally.
I think a lot of us are just grown people trying to learn how to sleep in our own rooms. Trying to step into new seasons when we are ready. Trying to feel safe enough to move forward.
So if you are taking longer than people expected, good. It means you are doing it in your time, not theirs.
And that is the kind of patience that actually works.
Happy birthday to my beautiful daughter, Peyton. Thank you for teaching me that progress does not need to be rushed.
Love ya, BYE!
Tee Talk 