Take a Number

I have started to notice that waiting is now part of the equation when calculating the amount of time you set aside to do just about anything.  Five minutes, ten minutes, even the clock seems to pause while I wait for the alarm to ring, I wait for the shower to get the correct temperature, I wait for the toast to pop up, I wait for the washer to wash and the drier to stop, I wait for red lights to change, I wait at the bank to get money, I wait at kiosks, markets and fine emporiums to pay money for something they have, but I want, I wait at restaurants to get the menu, to be waited on and then wait to be served, I wait to pay the bill, I wait to be fashionably late, I wait until the perfect hour to go to dreamland (where, magically I don’t seem to have to wait)… I wait, wait and wait some more.

“Patience is a virtue.”  With hours in the day dedicated to the four letter word that seems to even want to linger when you say it, my good qualities of serenity, persistence and fortitude are becoming rather suspect.  These shortcomings are probably most tested… as any woman would attest who has had the same privilege… when waiting in line for use of a public restroom.  An opportunity that is almost more than words can describe.  The economics of the situation (basic demand exceeds supply) doesn’t seem to present itself in the same manner to the opposite sex and perhaps not fully appreciated when the spousal unit explains why it took her 25 minutes to go to the restroom.  It is a matter of the total grasp of the situation to truly value waiting in line for what seems to be a lifetime (because you waited too long, in hopes that the darn football game would be over and you might be able to make it home so you could luxuriate in the confines of your own home facility) to find out that the lovely little metal stall that you were assigned was out of toilet paper (a precious, priceless commodity, that one can never have too much of… just in case).

“Good things come to those who wait.”  Don’t believe it, I say grab the gusto, go for it and get it while you can.  I have become jaded in my thinking and feel waiting is way overrated.  Think of how many great opportunities have been overlooked and missed because you were looking the other way, waiting for something else to happen?  If we spend more time doing and not waiting, we’d be able to spend that time being productive, or maybe doing nothing at all.

“All in due time…” Now, realistically, I know you can’t rush progress and some things are worth the wait.  There still has to be nine months for a baby to arrive.  Birthdays will fall every year about the same time (funny how that happens).  Vacations and holidays will anxiously be anticipated.  It feels like a lifetime when you wait for a knight in shining armor (and longer if you happen to run into some toads).  The gelato you crave will be just as delectable (or maybe a bit better) if you have to ponder the delicacy while you wait.  So, maybe it is in the manner in which we wait, our state of mind and what we do while waiting that makes the difference.  I guess I will just have to wait and see how all this theory works out.  But don’t wait up… it may take a while.

Cynthia A. McClelland, curious observer of the obvious with interpretations of the oddities of daily life.  Mother, wife and lover of the furry, resides in the north Lake Tahoe area.

Cynthia A. McClelland © 2003-