On being patient
I am not noted for my patience. I like to know when to expect things to happen. These last few days have been quite a challenge though.
Some things are pretty trivial and the cause of minor irritation more than anything. Like going to get my complimentary coffee when I’ve finished my weekly supermarket shop and finding the machine temporarily out of order. I could wait…but I knew the road home was closing in a few minutes (tree felling because of ash dieback) so I decided to go without my coffee rather than take a lengthy detour.
Rather more patience was needed when my car went in for service last week. I’d been told it would need three hours, so went off and did a few errands, returning to the dealership around the time it was likely to be ready. I was greeted warmly by the receptionist, who said “won’t be long…they’re just cleaning your car now”. An hour later, I was getting antsy.
How long does it take to clean a car?!
I know, I could have helped myself to coffee and a pastry, but thinking that it would be ready in a few minutes, I simply thought of the yummy breakfast we’d had earlier at Sam and Jaks in Cirencester, looked forward to driving home for lunch and twiddled my thumbs, just like my Grandma used to do.
The following day, I was waiting for my car again, because the service had revealed the need for new front tyres. Whilst I could have had them replaced at the dealership, our local tyre fitters are great and take excellent care of my Hero and I when needed. Any slow punctures, faulty valves, nails in tyres or whatever and they are there, happy to assist with a smile and minimal charge. As a result, we prefer to support them when we need replacement tyres and knowing I was likely to be sitting in a draughty waiting room for an hour or more, I took my book. Being prepared for a wait makes it so much easier, doesn’t it?
Right now, however, there is a bit of an elephant in the waiting room. Most friends greet me with the question “Any news yet?” and each morning my first thought is to see whether or not we’ve had a message overnight. Last week whilst shopping, I chatted to one of the shop assistants who apologised for being distracted. “My daughter is in the hospital today, having a Caesarian - I am waiting for news of my new Grandchild”. I smiled, gave her a hug and explained that I too was awaiting news…though mine was not quite so predictable as hers. We realised that when I shop next week, we’ll likely both have news to share and said ‘bye with good wishes to each other.
As I took my shopping to the car, she came running over to me with a bunch of flowers - “for you”. How lovely was that? And this Thursday, there she was with a smile from ear to ear. Madeline Rose had been welcomed into the world and she had photos to share too!
Meanwhile, our Grandson is still happy to stay put, showing no signs of making his entrance just yet and according to the midwife, is doing well and behaving exactly as she would expect.
For him, I have all the patience in the world!
