Patience

I am, by far and away, not a hugely patient person. AB has to sing “The Patience Song” to me on occasion, and is usually met by seething glares in response. Most recently, yesterday. What usually gets me is driving. Namely people being nice while driving. Weird huh? Stick with me for a second. A good friend of ours from Alaska, his dad was the chief of police (I believe). I have only met the dad in person a few times, he really kind of scares me (AB laughs when I say this). But I remember one thing he said to us regarding traffic accidents, that the vast majority of them are caused by people being nice. Stopping and waving people across only for the car to be hit from the other direction because the person didn’t look, or the person being nice being rear-ended because someone behind them didn’t expect them to be stopped. Things like that. So when I see that happening (and in my town people are way too nice) it drives me bonkers. Hence my meltdown yesterday when the cowboy in the Target parking lot felt the need to let 10 cars through. Oh and not to mention it is rude to those behind who have been waiting and waiting to get where they are going.

I digressed. My patience is in the mid-range level. I am not a hot head, but I am also not a pushover.

Today I went to Safeway to get a sandwich for lunch and pick up a few greeting cards. Oh and a chocolate donut that was beckoning me. I was checking out of the Express lane and I was owed a free sandwich coupon since my Club card showed me as purchasing 6 sandwiches. The checker didn’t have one on hand and so he called over to the manager to get one and they went scrambling.

The checker wasn’t gone five seconds when the woman behind me started proclaiming, loudly, about having to wait. I was shocked and a little taken aback. There was no employee to hear her proclamations and so I assume they were directed to me. I turned to her and said, “I am sorry you have to wait, but I am not leaving without my free sandwich coupon.” The woman doesn’t even look at me, but continues huffing and puffing and steaming and snorting about her valuable time. Then the woman behind her actually says, “ma’am you need to calm down a bit, he will be back in 30 seconds”.

The woman actually speaks to her then and says, “well I have changed lines twice already trying to get out of here”. Woman #2 and I shrug our shoulders. That just happens sometimes.

Cranky old biddy starts scooping up her items since she has now had it, after nearly 90 seconds. She drops things, she cusses, she gets her items over to the other belt where she is now 3rd in line there, just as our checker steps back into his station with my coupon. I thank him and smile at the woman who is now next. She says, “hey no skin off my nose, I get out of here faster now”. I look over to the cranky biddy with a steaming red face in the other Express aisle making sure she sees me leave, well before she is even “next” in line.

“Have patience, have patience, don’t be in such a hurry…”