UNITED STATES─I’ve known this for a while, but it seems to hit me more and more as I get older: my patience is waning. Why? I had to make a run, as it seems the economy is slowly, but surely reopening and it seems things while not normal is trying to get there. I have no problem waiting in a line, I’ve had to do it for years, rather you’re paying a utility bill, handling business at the bank or the DMV. Simply put, in life you sometimes have to wait.
However, the wait I had while at the mall, left me bonkers. It wasn’t that the line was excessively long it just felt like no one was prepared. I mean I’m a firm believer that you have an idea on how you plan to pay for your stuff: cash, credit or debit. Now, I know some of you are thinking, well, what about check? I don’t know too many places especially in retail where you can pay for your items with a check, but I could be wrong people. However, it’s beyond frustrating, when people are waiting in an already long line and then have to wait another 5-10 minutes for someone to decide how they want to pay for items.
Also what frustrates me more is when people get to the register and try to negotiate prices with the clerk! Hey, you’re not buying a house or a car, there is no negotiation here. The price is what the price is and if you don’t want the item just simply say that, don’t sit patiently thinking its ok for the other patrons to act as if it’s no big deal, but it’s a big deal. It is not fair to others. With that said, I found myself in a position where I just wanted to dart off on the races; I just did not want to wait any longer for items that I really needed or perhaps wanted.
With the new world of social distancing, it seems the notion of being in a line is even longer NOW than ever before. I saw loads and I mean loads of people waiting in massive lines to get into the Apple store or into a shoe store and waiting patiently for their moment to shop. I thought in my head, that ain’t happening; there was no way I was about to sit in a line and wait hours to go into a retailer and have that pressure to shop with an intensity knowing that others are patiently waiting for their opportunity. Its sucks, but that is the world we live in now. You have to have patience no matter where you go.
The post office, the bank, the grocery store, the barbershop, the hair salon, the mall and a ton of other places, you will need to have patience nowadays people. Could it be the fact that I no longer like standing on my feet for extensive periods of time. It’s very much possible; I mean I have a job where I’m on my feet for hours and its nonstop people. So sitting still can be trying on the bottom, but it can also put a beating on one’s feet.
With patience also comes having to maybe dealing with people who can be annoying. You know precisely what I’m talking about: the loud mouths, the people twitching in the line or coming and going as someone brings more items, wanting to chat when you’re not INTERESTED in chatting, kids who scream, yell and are just rambunctious in more ways that we can talk. Sometimes we as people just want things FAST, QUICK and RIGHT NOW! We do not like to wait, and when we’re forced to do that it takes a lot for us to realize how quickly our temper can explode or we can lose it.
I’m a firm believer that the early bird gets the worm and as a result it has become the biggest realization that if I beat the crowds or focus on being their first, I don’t have to worry about the chaotic crowds, the long lines, the annoying people. I think my patience will only get worse as I get older, but be assured I am working to be better, but it will not happen overnight America.
