The Jack Files: Emma's Box of Patience

My daughter has been asking me for a story just for her. This was a hard one!

"When is Christmas ever going to get here?", Emma asked herself as he paced in her room back and forth back and forth.

"I'm so borreeed, bored, bored." She sat on her bed with her arms crossed and her head down. "School is on a break, dance is on a break and Mom says she needs a break. What good is a break anyway? All a break means is that I'm bored!"

Emma got off her bed and went into the kitchen. She found her mom cleaning up and said, "Mom, I'm bored."

"Really? It's only the third day of Christmas Break and you're bored already?", asked her Mom.

Emma let out a BIG sigh and said, "Yes. There is nothing to do."

Her Mom listed off a bunch of things she could do but Emma said no, no, no to all of them.

"Never mind," said Emma. "I'll find something."

"Good thinking, use your imagination, "said her Mom.

Emma went back to her room. "Use my imagination. Hmm....what can I come up with?"

"Oh! I know! I'll pretend I'm a princess locked in a closet and I'll wait for my prince to come and rescue me!"

She climbed into her closet, found a small spot on the floor where she could sit and hid behind the clothes. "This is perfect," she thought to herself. "Now I'll just wait and my magic prince will use his x-ray vision and find me!"

Emma waited and waited and waited. And waited and waited and waited. After a long while Emma decided that this wasn't a game for one, she better go get her little sister, Elise, and she could be her prince.

"ELISE! Where are you?", Emma shouted from her room. Let's play Princess and Elise!"

"W-H-A-T?" Elise shouted back from the playroom.

"I SAID,LET'S PLAY PRINCESS AND ELISE!"

"W-H-A-T?" Elise shouted again.

"Why don't you go to the playroom and speak to her there Emma," her mom said sounding annoyed.

"Okay." Emma went to the playroom and explained her game to her little sister.

"Uh, no thanks. I no wanna to. I playing Little People. You wanna play Little Peoples and Elise?"

"NO, I don't! HUMPH!", Emma turned on one heal and stomped back to her room.

"Christmas Break is boring! Who needs Christmas Break anyway? Christmas is NEVER going to get here."

Emma's Mom came into her room after she heard the commotion. "What's the problem Emma?"

"I'm so bored and now Elise won't even play with me. She makes me so mad sometimes. Little sisters are no fun and Christmas Break is no fun!"

"You won't think so in a few days. Just find your patience and you'll be surprised what patience will bring you."

"What? More presents?!" Emma asked with a smile.

"You know that Christmas isn't just about gifts." Said her mom.

"I know, it's about giving, Christmas spirit, Baby Jesus and the final countdown to being good!"

"Well yes you're right about those things, but being good is a smart idea for the whole year, not just the week before Christmas. Patience brings you love and joy and your own sense of magic in your heart."

"You mean I can really have magic? It's really real?" asked Emma.

"Magic is in all of us, we just have to figure out how to use it."

"Do you have magic Mom?" Emma asked.

"I like to think so," said her Mom as she kissed her on the top of her head.

Emma thought long and hard about patience. "Patience means waiting and waiting and Mom says good things will come. I don't know what patience looks like though. How can I find it if I don't know what it looks like?"

Emma began to search her room, "Is it under my bed? Is it in my closet? Is it behind my table?" She decided to look around the house, "It's got to be here somewhere," she said.

After hours of looking and searching and exploring Emma became very frustrated and went to talk to her Mom.

"Mom, I've been looking all over the house for my patience but I can't find it! What does it look like EXACTLY?"

"Oh Emma, it is not something you can see or touch. Patience is something that is inside your heart and your mind."

"Okay, then what EXACTLY does that mean?" Emma asked even more frustrated than before.

"Hmm.. remember when you wanted to get your ears pierced and we said you had to wait until your birthday?"

"Yes."

"Well you waited six long months and then your birthday came and you got your birthday wish. So for you that time patience came in the form of pierced ears. It is different for everyone. For me it was waiting for you to be born, you were two weeks overdue and I thought the world was going to come to an end if you hadn't come out already! And then I got a call from the hospital to say that it was time to get you out! So patience for me was finally holding you in my arms instead of my belly."

Emma giggled.

"Patience can be the moment you finally learn that special step in ballet or tap, or when you figure out that really long word in school. For some people it's that moment when the Doctor says they are better after hurting for a long from being sick."

"Oh. Okay I think I understand. Practice means patience and waiting means patience. But why do you say, "Find your patience", if it's nothing I can see or touch?"

"I guess I mean practice your patience and you'll see it that way. I have an idea.", said Emma's Mom. She gave Emma a square red box with a lid and a white bow on top. She opened it up and inside was a white shiny lining but nothing inside.

"What's this for?" asked Emma. "There is nothing in it."

"This box is a good place to keep your patience and see it grow. Close your eyes, make a wish in your mind and then whisper it in the box. Close the lid tight so it doesn't escape. When you're waiting for something to happen, like in this case Christmas Day, and you feel like you're losing your patience, take the box in your hands and squeeze the lid on tighter and tighter. That way it will remind you that the day is coming and not to let go of the magic it will bring you."

Emma smiled took the box and went into her room. She took the lid off and whispered her wish inside, just as her mom explained. "I wish for Christmas Day to get here, to see my cousins, and family, to eat LOTS of chocolate and to open lots of presents! But don't tell mom that last part!" She closed the lid as quick as she could and put the box on top of her dresser.

Emma stared at that red box for days, picking it up and squeezing it every now and then to make sure her patience wasn't escaping. Finally it was Christmas Eve. ONE MORE SLEEP! "You can do this." Emma said to herself. At bedtime she and her sister put out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Mom tucked her into bed and kissed her on her cheek.

"How's the patience going Emma?"

"Really good, it tried to get out but I stuffed it back in and now we have one more sleep!"

"Good news!" said her mom. "See you in the morning, but not too early right?"

"I can't promise that Mom!"

Emma fell fast asleep and dreamed of snow and treats and presents. Before she knew it she opened her eyes and she could feel that Santa finally came. She rushed out of her room and woke everyone up.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!" she yelled as she jumped on her parents bed.

Emma sat and looked around the living room after the presents were all open and smiled. She was happy she had her patience with her and thought she should share it. She went to her room grabbed the red box and gave it to her mom.

"What's this for?" asked her mom.

"Well I was thinking and I thought you could use it too. You know when you say that you are about to lose your patience when you're getting mad at us?"

Her Mom nodded.