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Beyond Mindfulness and Gratitude: A Lesson in Patience for Educators

Dan Fitch
3 min readOct 27, 2023

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Photo by Stormy All on Unsplash

The giggles get louder and louder.

I know that I am supposed to enjoy that sound. My kids are playing; they’re laughing; they’re doing what they are supposed to be doing. Laughing, playing, having fun, and being children.

Yet, here I am, not seeing the moment for what it is.

What is it about patience?

There are many limited resources we have within the course of our day. Patience, time, willpower, to name a few. I’ve read that when we reach a certain point and the resource is spent, that we are climbing a mountain in trying to regain any of it.

In this moment, this acute post-Covid lockdown moment, I am running out of patience. My kids are giggling and I know something… it’s the 15th time today that they started with giggling before it turned into screaming and fighting.

How is it even possible to stay mindful and present in difficult situations?

While we are years removed from the lockdown times, it’s easy for me to put myself back in that place. I can remember the frustration and the anxiety. Unlike some other schools, the school district in which I worked made sure that online instruction got up and running… and fast. My home district didn’t do the same thing. Many people…

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Dan Fitch
Dan Fitch

Written by Dan Fitch

Helping kids communicate is my day job. Wading through my thoughts to get them out here.

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