My father had this saying when I was growing up: “Hurry up and wait.” I would often laugh at the expression – until I had to start driving on I-95 in New York. Anyone who has driven I-95 knows that there are two speeds on this road – drag racing and dead stop. There are so many times it has taken me hours to go 13-15 miles. By now you would think I might have learned patience after 18+ years of driving on the Cross Bronx Expressway. The reality is, I still get frustrated and yell at drivers.
I am not one for sitting in traffic or waiting on lines (heck, I was born two months premature!). I will often choose to take lunch early or late so I don’t have to wait on line. So, when I went to Whole Foods for a lunch treat this week, I thought I would miss the mad rush. But there I was – standing on a long line. If you have ever been to a Whole Foods, you might appreciate the anxiety running through me. You not only have to wait on a LONG line, you have to stand in a color coded line and wait for your color to be called and told what register to go to. There’s a science to it. And finding your register when it blinks is an art – one I have not mastered.
I waited on the long line because I had bought a delicious lunch. And then I thought, “Why am in a hurry?” Other than wanting to enjoy a yummy meal, what was the big rush?
Of course, there are many other things I would rather be doing than sitting in my car in traffic or waiting on a long line in a food store, but I get to choose how I think about it. I get to listen to more CD’s in my car and meet new people while waiting on line. I even chatted with the cashier at Whole Foods as I had just seen her over the weekend. This doesn’t mean I’ll love to sit in traffic or wait on lines, but it does mean I might choose a different response to it.
What is something that teaches you to hurry up and wait?
Mary Anne