GIVE ME PATIENCE . . .

The rest of that little petition goes, "and give it to me NOW!"

Last week's post about wishing for autumn colors to fill my world reminded me that I could do with a good dose of Patience. Capsule, liquid, painted on . . . whatever works, the faster, the better.

I'm happy to report the trees are getting into their autumnal clothing, and more and more of them are dressed in every color on the wheel, except blue--that's in the sky. (October-blue ought to be a crayon in the big box.) And I have to admit, my very public whine last week had very little to do with autumn colors appearing.

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Let's talk about Patience--that's a virtue, right? As children, we were encouraged (in various tones of voice) to just be patient--Santa is coming, school is almost over, your birthday is nearly here . . . . Then we had to endure adolescence and its endless waiting--for school to be over for good, to be old enough to drive (or drink alcohol), to find the one person we wanted to spend our life with, to find a job and make a lot of money. (We did dream big, didn't we?)

There was the long, long, looooooong wait for a baby to be born. (Did anyone ever discover why nine months is so much longer than a year?) 

Adult waiting-with-patience seems to lurk around every corner of life. Patience while the children grow and explore and discover and nearly get themselves in deep do-do, or hot water. Patience while a spouse goes through a life crisis--family problems, health issues, job concerns. 

Everybody has had to wait in line for something or other--at the bank, the pharmacy, the movie theater. Somebody always has advice about how to endure such waiting--nowadays, it seems everybody just glues to the phone and reads texts or sends messages. (However, some of the big stores now offer us self-checkout; beats waiting in line, huh?)

Then there's Patience with oneself during times of doubt and worry and discouragement. Will this ever end, we ask? Am I doomed to live like this until I finally wither on the vine? Will the workout program or the yoga ever make a difference?

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Have you ever watched a fisherman with a line in the water? (I never had the patience to wait for a bite.)

Or how about a kid watching the cookies bake through the glass door in the oven? 

And then there's the teddy bear or blankie running through the wash and dry cycles . . . . Charles Schulz got a lot of mileage out of Linus and his anxiety over the blankie in the dryer.

Most of us experience a modicum of impatience while waiting for the latest update to load on our phones or computers. 

Gardeners are among the most patient people I know--my family has two avid gardeners. They till the soil, plant (and sometimes replant more than once when rain torrents down and washes everything away), water the plants in dry times, weed, chase critters and birds away--all in the expectation of crops to can and freeze and preserve when summer's waning. Their patience is rewarded--I can attest to the delicious results--and many of us receive jars of homegrown food for Christmas gifts.


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Yes, Patience exists. I've had it (fleetingly) throughout my life. Now that I'm slower of foot and possibly even kinder of thought, I find Patience easier to access. 

The big challenge now is to discover how to slow down the clock so we can enjoy the waiting. I can be patient, I promise. But really--only two months till Christmas?!