Patience

I'm impatient. Patience has never been a virtue of mine. It's something I realize and something I need to work on.

I can't stand traffic (nothing is a greater waste of time). I get impatient waiting for public transportation. And I have a hard time waiting for news or information. Even something like baggage claim? Don't get me started. I get anxious and antsy. I can't concentrate on other things. And many times? I start getting grumpy. (Umm, especially if I haven't eaten. Seriously.)

I try to redirect my energy. Or to stop myself and just take a breath. My trusty iPod helps. Play some calming (and distracting) music while I'm waiting. So does my CrackBerry. I'm able to scan Twitter, Facebook, or even catch up on my emails.

I was recently stuck in some horrible car traffic due to the lovely SF Bay to Breakers run. And I was on a tight schedule to get to the airport. I started getting worked up. As I started to feel my impatientness grow and my antsiness increase, I tried stopping myself. There was nothing more we could do to speed up traffic. There was someone else in the car, someone that was still getting to know me and they did not need to see that side of me. At least not yet! (The good news? He was equally, if not more grumpy, and we both finally calmed down and it all worked out in the end.)

I realize many things are out of our control. For example, I know that it's better to sit on a plane for 2 hrs just to have to deplane and hike across Miami International Airport to get on another plane just to leave more than 5 hours later, than to be on a plane with faulty equipment. But the complete waste of a day...I have a hard time with that.

Maybe I was just born with a little less of the 'patience' gene.