The Word My Son Taught Me to Eliminate From My Vocabulary

A few months ago I realized I was starting to tell my son “to hurry”. One day as we were out walking, I stopped in the middle of telling him to hurry to our next location. Were we really in a hurry? No. Did we need to hurry? Absolutely not!

I started thinking about why I was telling him to hurry. Was it the constant reminder of society that tells us to rush? Was it that his little legs don’t walk as fast as mine? Was it that we are on a military base and hear “hurry up and wait”?

I had to remind myself: Slow down, “hurrying” means you’re missing what’s right here.

Every time I was telling my son to hurry, what was I missing out on? The world is all new to him and he is an explorer ready for adventure. He often shows me things I have never noticed before.

When he wants to stop and smell the flowers, why not!? I could use some aroma therapy to rejuvenate the day. We now stop at dirt piles in odd locations, pull out the construction toys and dig.

I now let him take his time and show me everything from his perspective. He’s taught me to be present, slow down, and not rush through his childhood. If we really need to be some place at a certain time I backwards plan and allow way more time than we actually need.

I don’t want him to learn “to hurry” as a child. The world of rushing can wait for him to decide on his own if he wants to be a part of it or not.

Slow down, and enjoy life. Let the “hurrying” go.