Normally I am a very impatient person. I hate waiting for anything. I usually multitask all day long, physically and mentally.
I have patience in one place in my life, helping my brother. Everything my brother does seems to be in slow motion. It is so hard to watch him do things for himself, I just want to reach over and do it for him. Not because I am impatient but because I don’t want to see him struggle. Waiting for him to get in or out of the car, sit, stand, walk, feels like time has stopped. He pauses in motion…does he need help, is he thinking of his next move, is he willing his limbs to cooperate? I try to always ask first, “do you need help?” I don’t want to assume. Sometimes he says yes. Other times he says he can do it so I wait till he is done.
Helping him is the most important task of that day. It is the only task of the moment. I not only physically wait, but my thoughts slow down too. Everything focuses to being in the moment. At times it is almost peaceful, everything I do and think in my multitasking world pauses. There is so little I can do for him, but I can make him the center of my attention for that moment. Then, when we are done with that task. I step away, take a deep breath…and all my multitasking tendencies come back in a rush.
If it were possible I would patiently wait for him for him for the rest of my life.
