Category: waiting

Someone coined the phrase “an exercise in patience.” I guess it’s good to exercise your patience from time to time. I got the chance two times yesterday.

The first occasion was, of course, at Walmart. There were only a few people at the self-checkout machines and cashiers. But all of them had huge carts full of items, and they all seemed puzzled by the self-checkout stations. I told myself, “You’re not in a hurry; just be patient.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw no one in line for the ten items or less checkout. Sweet. I hopped over there and put my three items down. What I hadn’t noticed was two cashiers staring at the touch screen with furrowed brows and concerned looks on their faces. The only customer ahead of me was showing them pictures of prices that hadn’t scanned properly, and they were trying to figure out how to make it right. Finally, they got it to work. But he had yet another picture of a price for them to enter manually, which required another supervisors to tap in some numbers. By now the line behind me was six people long. The same people were still bagging groceries at self-checkout. I thought, “Just be patient. Just be patient.”

After about six or seven minutes, it was my turn, and the cashier kindly thanked me for my patience.

Next, I took our Great Dane to the vet for her monthly weigh in and heart worm medication purchase. It was about five minutes after noon, and one tech was working the front desk while the other front office people were sitting outside eating lunch. We headed over to the scale to learn that our six month old puppy now weighed seventy pounds. She gained twenty pounds in the last month.

Two other pet owners walked in while we were at the scale. One needed some records. The other needed some medication. So my dog and I wandered around looking at the salt water fish tank, the dog food displays, and a few toys for sale. After about ten minutes, it was our turn, but the tech asked, “Can you wait one more minute? I’ve had people on hold for ten minutes.” I said, “Sure,” mostly because I spotted jars of free dog treats on the counter. After a few minutes on the phone, she thanked me for my patience, she got the heart worm and flea pill we needed for the month.

I often thanked for my patience, which makes me wonder if that’s a rare experience for those in retail or health care or whatever. Judging by the way people drive, push their way through stores, and complain loudly on their phones, I’m sure it is.