Being Impatient

Whenever I get annoyed or irritated my mother always tells me that patience is a virtue. I never understood what this meant until recently. I was always too concerned with my own needs, and I put myself ahead of others. I am always in a rush and I hate to waste time. I am extremely impatient. I never thought this was a bad thing, until I realized that through always being in a rush you miss out on the simple pleasures in life. Good things come to those who wait.

Every summer my family spends the months of July and August at our family’s beach cottage in Gloucester. It is always fun, but sometimes it can be hard living with two dogs and twelve other people (sometimes more.) Everyone will be ready to go to the beach, except for that one person. I never understood why it took them so long to get ready, especially since they woke up two hours before me. I know there are some things you cannot control like when high tide is. It is always frustrating though, when everyone is eager to jump off the rocks, but you can only do so at high tide. Even though it can be annoying, I know that tomorrow is another day and will bring new opportunities. On rainy days our family always plays old board games and watches movies. My cousins and I always get frustrated when we play Scrabble with our grandmother. We can never understand why it takes her twice as long as us to spell a simple word. Even though it was annoying, we were spending precious time with our grandmother.

It is always interesting to watch so many people in one house get ready to go out. For example, whenever we go to church in the morning, you have to wait an hour just to get into the bathroom. When we go out to dinner you have to wait forever just to take a shower. Once you get to the restaurant, the food always takes a long time to get ready, since there are so many of us. All you want is your food and it seems like something small to get upset over.

Summers are filled with the best family memories. I realized that by being impatient with others, I was missing out on the fun things that happened. Even though driving around for two hours looking for a place to park seemed like wasted time, it was time spent with family. If I am irritable and grouchy and always in a rush I can never enjoy myself. It is important not to take for granted what is in front of you. When I rush others, I am annoying them and I am indicating that my needs are more important than theirs. I regret all those times where I made them hurry. Wasting energy through complaining got me nowhere. I know I need to relax, stay calm, and go with the flow. There is no use rushing things, everything will turn out alright. My grandmother always says “this too shall pass,” and the next day is always better.