No, not political correctness; patience and consciousness (P,C.).  Believe me, I thrive on not being politically correct.  If it weren’t for off color humor, sarcasm, or even the occasional prejudice I wouldn’t have much to say at all.  Back to being P.C.  I was turning a few pages this morning and these concepts were discussed in great lengths by a women who calls herself the Baby Whisperer.  Obviously this women deals in babies; specifically, fixing the unfix able regarding crying, feeding, sleeping, and poohing.  Yeah I said it, poohing.  I figure my life, along with my vocabulary, are going to change drastically in two months so I might as well get used to saying things like pooh, potty, diaper, and damn.  Back to the point.  This Baby Whisperer raises a topic that I think applies to more than parenting.  Point 1:  As parents we fail because we don’t have patience.  She explains, “in the heat of the moment, parents, take what seems like an easier road, only to find out later that it leads to a dangerous dead end.”  Point 2:  Being conscious of your child should begin the moment he exits the womb.  Pay attention to cries, body language, and the how these subtle (more often momentous) shifts, coos, and cries change as the baby is placed in new environments and experiences.  Doing this require the parent to actually pay attention to their little “gatorette,” crawl around with the “turd machince,” and even put down the phone, turn off the TV, and converse, yup, with the munchkin.    

I know all of us aren’t daddies and mommies to be and could care less about what some baby freak has to say about being patience and conscious.  I know, I get it, your way to busy getting things done to worry about slowing down.  Gotta keep pace in the rat race right.  I was – am in the same boat.  Recently, I was pretty sick and pretty sure I brought it on myself by ignoring some simple training practices and not taking my rest days and certainly not following the guidelines of a healthy diet.  By taking some short cuts and not listening and being conscious of my own bodies needs I put myself back a few days.  I am slowly coming out of the funk I was in but regret putting myself there by seemingly not doing two simple things; practicing patience and consciousness.  Looking back its scary to think I didn’t have the time or instincts to make judgments about my own body.  

To often we think the way to greatness, results, the end of the road is paved in blood sweat and tears.  The coach in me definitely thinks so, but, there also has to be a balance to things.  Sometimes when your foot hurts you need to rest it, not box jump till the pain is numbing; when your body is tired sometimes you need sleep; and if your mojo ain’t what it usually is something might need adjusting.  I think with a little more P.C. we’d all do ourselves and the people who depend on us a great service.         

By the way, this baby whisperer is Tracy Hogg, and her book is, The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems (By Teaching You How To Ask the Right Questions).  Enjoy!!!