Pat Bean's blog

On Hold for What Seens Like Forever

          A recent New York Times headline had me nodding my head in agreement. “A Nation on Hold Wants to Speak to a Manager,” it said, then went on to talk about how people are losing it, and not just after spending endless hours waiting to talk to a real person on the phone.

And not just screaming about it – as I did a couple of days ago when I couldn’t stand one more minute of the annoying music that was playing while I was waiting to cancel a wellness appointment with my doctor. I felt fine and didn’t want to risk getting Covid from a crowded waiting room.

People are getting abusive when the grocery store is out of their favorite cheese, airline passengers are becoming violent, and road rage abuse and resulting deaths are no longer a rare headline.

Now, I’m not a patient person. In fact, before I took up bird watching 23 years ago, I kind of felt patience was an excuse for couch sitters. Age, of course, has taught me better.

But for the first time in my life, I’m entering a new year with not much hope that it’s going to get better. That’s hard for me to say because I still do believe every bad thing that happens is followed by a silver lining. You don’t get the job you wanted but you end up in a better position. You move to a place where you know no one, but it forces you to better stand on your own feet and you eventually make new friends.

But patience is required before those things happen.

I don’t know about you, but this coming year, I am going to just live each day trying to fully enjoy mundane little things, like the laughter that flowed through me this morning when I walked my canine companion, Scamp.

We met up with Rhonda, who was walking her dog, Buddy. The two dogs immediately greeted each other doggie style – by sniffing butts. Then they both peed on the same tree.

“We have our e-mails, and dogs have their pee-mails,” she laughingly said.

Perhaps laughter will help me get through this coming year. I sure hope so.

Happy New Year.

Pat Bean is a retired award-winning journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, enthusiastic birder, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon (Free on Kindle Unlimited), and is always searching for life’s silver lining.