The Waiting Game...

(The Jeopardy Song)

Do do do do /do do do

Do do do do/do/do do do do do

When this song gets played, every JEOPARDY contestant knows that Alex Trebek is waiting for their answer.  Waiting for answers… (heavy sigh).  I don’t know about you but sometimes I get tired of playing the waiting game!  We wait in traffic, we wait in lines, we wait our turn.  We wait for things, we wait for people, we wait for service, we wait for answers, we wait for change.  Seriously, how many hours of our lives do we spend waiting?

Patience has never been my strong suit.  Some things are better than others.  For instance I have become a very patient driver and line dweller, unless of course I’m in a hurry.  I detest being late for anything. 

Some thing I have a hard time waiting for is food.  When I’m hungry, I have to eat.  It’s  like a bear in the woods.  There are certain times during the day when I need to be eating and if I am not, it is quite an unpleasant situation.  Knowing this about myself, however, I am usually prepared with some sort of small snack to hold me over until a meal can be arranged.

Moving onto bigger things, when it comes to waiting out life’s unknown answers, I do a pretty decent job.  I know deep down that it just takes a little patience and a lot of faith.  But no one on this planet is an ace at the waiting game.

While celebrating my impending birthday,  the waiting game became a topic of discussion between my friend Wendy and myself.  Birthdays are always a time of reflection.  However when that period of reflection gets mixed with Vodka, thenconversation, shall we say, gets a little more animated.  You see, when I mix Vodka with mild irritation, my patience for waiting in general disappears.  Nothing and no one is safe.  Anyone who has been privy to an amusing yet over-the-top rant on the bouquet toss or been on the receiving end of a disgruntled New Year’s Eve text and/or phone call, can tell you this is true. 

Vodka and obscure rants aside, whether it is in line or in life, everyone gets tired of waiting.  Life is full of puzzles and paradigms, and there will always be questions that need answering.  Why did this happen? Where is my life going?  When will I get a job?  When will I meet that special someone?  When will I have children?  When will I catch a break? When is this waiting game going to end and when will I get some answers?

Hang in there!  No one ever really knows where life is going to take them.  You will always go through periods of faith and periods of doubt, and you may not always love the answers or see the logic, but life has a way of working out exactly like it's supposed to. 

Think of life as a long grocery store line.  At first its OK.  You’ve accepted that it may take a while and you’re willing to wait it out.  As the minutes tick away, and you are stuck behind a woman that is apparently stocking up for nuclear disaster, you start to get a little edgy and irritated.  But, just when you think you can’t take it anymore, the cashier says to the woman in front of you, “Would you like the receipt with you or in the bag?" YES! Freedom is upon us!! (heavy sigh) 

Throughout life you will surely find yourself in the middle numerous grocery store lines.  When you do, remember to take a deep breath, grab a vodka/tonic and the ear of a good friend, and know that someday soon the wait will be over!

~E