I am getting very good at waiting. This is not some wonderful character trait for which I am to be admired, but is simply due to my stage in life. The key element in this ability to wait, is the fact that I now have time. Oh, there are days when I am very busy with life, but by and large, if I am honest, there is no need for me to become agitated or irritated as I wait for the life in front of me to move on.
This began to dawn on me only recently as I wended my way through a major hold-up due to road construction only to later wait in line with a demanding customer at the checkout line at the grocery store. In the first instance, I just sat back and put in another disc of my audio book, and was able to finish a cliff hanging chapter. In the second, I was waiting in the 15-items-or-less super market checkout lane while a gentleman in a wheelchair spent an inordinate amount of time arranging his groceries in a paper box, and then getting the box positioned under his feet in his chair. I just noted with appreciation the patience of the clerk and bagger as they helped arrange things to his liking.
I can afford to do this because there is no car pool line waiting for me, or job with a short lunch time for errands, or a youth sport activity in which the kickoff is now. The clock does not tick as loudly in my life as it once did. I can wait, and while I wait I often see and appreciate things that I used to miss. Instead of seeing only something blocking my way in a department store aisle, I can quietly wait while an engaged parent comforts an upset toddler. Instead of wondering where my meal is, I can look up and see an exhausted waitress leaning for a moment against the door to the restaurant kitchen. Instead of sighing in frustration as the car in front of me seems unable to decide to turn, I can see the teenager behind the wheel filled with terror and exhilaration while he learns to join us on the road.
This is one of the glories of getting old --- time. I now have it, and can look around and wait in patience while the human scene unfolds before my eyes.