Zaphod, I read somewhere that people are drawn to patient people…you can actually see patience imo, in how some people respond to posts, on this forum it’s quite interesting to watch I find…
I also see sometimes a post what I deem to be antagonistic, then the person it’s directed at responds in love and kindness, I think it’s a gift, some are just born that way maybe…I am still learning patience…
I don’t know if this is the same thing but it takes a heck of a lot to make me lose my temper.
I was always such an impatient person. Patience was never a virtue. Impulsive too.
Now in my dotage, I’m a far more laid back and patient person and not nearly as impulsive as I was.
I put it down to not being in the rat race any longer.
As a Secondary School teacher I must ooze it
Count to three…
Be calm…
No need for confrontation
My patience history is a very long story.
When it came to buying items for the home or a car, my youngest brother, if he couldn’t get those items on the day…he would keep searching until he found someone who would sell it to him there and then,
…otherwise he wouldn’t buy them…
In my personal life it’s the same
It takes a LOT to tip me
But woe betide the ones who do push me too far
They’ll get the 2 warnings… final warning
and then my red mist rant!
I’ve already said my son tries my patience…all last night he was ordering me to wait on him hand and foot…
Mum, where’s my halloumi, bring it up,( he eats upstairs)
Mum can you bring my fish and chips up now,…I got to the bottom of the stairs, mum you forgot the salt,
…it goes on and on.
My mother brought me up to wait on the men in the family, it’s a habit I have never been able to break.
My patience is good really all things considered. Mostly I do not react so remain patient, although once somebody has really managed to find out my level of impatience it’s too late, for them anyway. I don’t suffer fools gladly or those who are ‘Jobsworths’, as someone else on here mentioned.
Driving is somewhere I can be patient, that came of having a heart attack caused basically by far too much stress in my life for a lot of years. Now, if someone drives in such a way that would usually annoy, that doesn’t happen now. Even when there’s the usual need to brake heavily or take evasive action, there’s not even that rush of adrenaline, somehow I’ve changed my response to anything like that.
Only you can do that Pauline, he’s taking you for granted I feel and that is not doing him any good at all. I once had a son like that, he came to live with me to finish his education. I used to get comments like “Mum used to do that for me” the answer to that was “you are now 17 plus years of age, do it yourself, do I look like your mother?” He soon learned not to take me for granted, which was not a bad thing I reckon. 
I know he does, but he always tells me how spoilt he is and it’s my fault, so he’s now come to expect it…it was your fault mum you let me get away with it…you can’t stop it now after all these years,
…I have tried but old habits die hard.
Some young woman are also spoilt by their fathers, which do them no good either Baz, my son has met a few of those…swings and roundabouts I guess.
That’s even worse, he’s ‘blackmailing’ you into continuing to spoil him! 
Many decades ago now I found myself in a situation where I was on my own, I couldn’t cook, clean, iron or do anything else to do with housekeeping. I soon learned though, the hard way. I just wish I had been taught to cook properly and also something about food early in my life. That’s what mothers do, as nice as it seems at the time, they actually take away the ability to be independent in that way and nobody ever knows when they may need to be that way. What I was doing with my son eventually led to him sharing the cooking and all the other domestic chores that are part of life for all of us. He actually then found he enjoyed cooking, which I am sure has been good for him in his life now.
I will have to agree to disagree with you on this one Baz…
We see things differently in this area.
That’s fine Pauline, no problem with that, we are all different so see things differently.
My son is now approaching 50 with his own family. With often having to look after them himself, I am sure he’s benefitted from what he learned 30 years’ ago. Only time will tell with anything like that and in his case it’s proved invaluable.
I know I managed without being taught but life would have been so much easier had someone taught me, even just the basics.
