Waiting …

As I sit here while my computer goes through its mysterious ‘updates in progress … this may take a while’ process, I am set to thinking how we spend much of our lives just waiting – whether we want to or not.

The everyday waiting – for trains, planes, and automobiles; for doctors, dentists, and stop lights – are the obvious ones, the waiting has been scheduled into our day, we have allowed for it. Once we reach the airport or station or stop, we can see how long our wait will be. If we are organized, we plan for it, bringing along other jobs that have themselves been waiting to be taken care of – that book, checking of emails, the overdue call back, or even a longer task that needed just this enforced waiting time to be considered worthy of attention.

Then there is the unrealized waiting time; the waiting we do not appreciate or notice.

In the morning I wake and wait a while before rising; I wait for the kettle to boil and the toaster to pop.