Hurry Up and Wait!

I grew up an Army brat in the '60s and then went into the Navy myself in the '80s. If any of you have lived that lifestyle you know that it is full of acronyms and "sayings".

One of them is "hurry up and wait".

That's because in the military there is a LOT of waiting around. In basic training or boot camp, you are always waiting. Waiting for orders to do whatever is next, waiting in lines at the PX, commissary, or chow hall. Waiting to deploy. Waiting to come home. Waiting for mail to arrive (in the olden days!). Waiting in line for something all the time.

And so it became a pretty good lesson for life after the military too. Especially if you go on to work in government jobs! LOL

Waiting can be a bitch. Waiting can be a blessing. Waiting can also be a teacher.

Waiting for the impatient person is a trial by fire.

If you have to wait too long and too much it can be maddening.

Think back to times you waited, and waited, and waited. Good times, bad times. Times of adjustment, times of transition, times of loss. Waiting is part of them all.

Now I have been waiting for 4 years for a decent job. A real job. A job with reliable wages, security, a future. Lay-offs, unemployment, contract work, no work, all woven in among this waiting for a job where I can feel again like I am a part of the world around me.

In this respect I've gotten really good (somewhat) at waiting.

Now I am waiting to hear back on a job that I interviewed for almost a month ago. The phone could ring at any moment and the waiting would be over! My whole life would change in just an instant!

As a kid, remember waiting for the tooth fairy, Easter bunny, or Santa Claus? Now that waiting was fun and exciting and was a good childhood preparation for adult life, wasn't it?

Even long past really believing in these things I still got caught up in the "waiting high" that preceded their "arrival"! No, Mom, I did not REALLY still believe in Santa at age 10!

Someone once said that baseball is a game that is "all about waiting". If you think about it, it's true. Waiting for the pitch, the strike out, the base run, the home run. If you're actually in the ball park you're waiting for the pop or hotdog or beer vendor to wander your way.

Damn, I love baseball! I must admit I love the waiting part, the anticipation of what little thing could change the whole outcome. It's addictive!

Waiting teaches patience, but it also teaches the lesson of open mindedness to the outcome. It might not be what you expected, but it might lead to more than what you could have ever imagined.

Waiting permeates our life, but it does not have to stiffle our life in a negative way.

It can open us up to new possibilities, teach us the virtue of patience, and guide us to see that things usually work out ok if we choose to see the positive side of outcomes that we might never have expected.

Right now I am waiting for spring with every fiber of my being.

It will come, it will be glorious, it will bring joy and deep peace to my soul as it always does.

But I have to do the waiting to get to the good stuff, doncha know?

Waiting is a necessary part of life and a launching point for creative change.

In the waiting comes the transformaton to new life.

*Update: I got the job!