"Flush" for 4/12 -- the marshmallow test

“Strength is the capacity to break a Hershey bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces.”  Judith Viorst

That quote reminds me of this Youtube video….can you WAIT if you know something better is coming?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX_oy9614HQ (3:28)

I thought the quote and this video went hand in hand.  It is very difficult to wait sometimes.  It is difficult even when we KNOW something greater is to come.  I saw a college friend of mine’s Facebook post that said “Why does delayed gratification have to start now?”  -- I think that sums up my mindset sometimes.  When I do a single situp…I want to see abs like that wolf boy on Twilight.  When I listen to “level 1 of how to speak Spanish”….I want to be fluent. 

We find strength is our  ability to wait and be persistent.  We find our love and passion for things that we are fully committed to.  It makes them have a greater value to us.  Things that have meaning to us are things that we often had to work for, fight for, or even wait for.  If everything you wanted was given to you today, I would hypothesize that you wouldn’t be content…you would just get that “I need” motor started.  Sometimes the waiting is the contentment…

That dovetails into what we do as educators….we plant seeds that are SLOW to grow sometimes.   We work daily in a challenging, uphill environment because we know that the reward for them is coming.  There are greater things for them to come, and that our dedication to that goal shows our love for the kids and for teaching.

Over the weekend think of something that you have waited for that was amazing when it finally came to fruition.   What is something that you could “get two marshmallows for later” if you didn’t settle for the “one marshmallow” now?

Thanks for all you do!  Happy Friday!