Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

A crisp, autumn breeze greets me as I head out the door for my daily walk and I instinctively hug my shoulders to stay warm.  The quiet of the morning fills my soul as I am surrounded by the gentle pitter patter of falling leaves.  Bright orange and yellow maple leaves are my favorite part of autumn … I long to dive into the nearest pile, but manage to contain myself … I only wish my children would not have outgrown our annual leaf-diving rituals!!  (Maybe I can still try to convince them to join me later today.)  As I head around the corner, I am blinded by the rising sun reminding me that the afternoon should be a little warmer once the sun has fully risen.  Through the quiet of the morning, I hear the hum of a far off tractor and my thoughts go out to my husband.  Although today is Sunday and routinely a day for quality, family bonding, the kids and I will have to find other ways to spend the day since Shawn will be confined to the field once again.  It seems like forever since I have actually spent time with him during waking hours!  Although in many respects, autumn is my favorite season, being a “harvest widow” can be very challenging on my patience!!  

They have always said that “patience is a virtue” but no one ever said it would be easy!  Although waiting is often the hardest part, many things are truly worth waiting for.  Often we wait … we wait for prayers to be answered, wait on nature to take its course, wait for our hard work to show fruits of our labor.  We wait on babies to be conceived, and to be delivered … we wait for our children to learn and grow to become successful men and women.  We may even have to wait for our niece or daughter or friend to write another blog post.    :-)

But an important thing to note, is that patience is not to be confused with procrastination ... waiting til the time is right, til tomorrow, til next spring, til next year, or “someday” … til the kids have grown, til we  lose 5 pounds, til our inbox is empty … (These are all excuses!)  Patience is meant for things that are beyond our control!  

Now, as I sit in my living room surrounded by piles of unfolded laundry (oh damn, that’s procrastination), I am startled by the ringing of the phone.  It is my husband calling to say that he may make it home for supper tonight.  I head into the kitchen, take some meat out to thaw and open the refrigerator to find that we are out of milk.  With a smile on my face and a spring in my step, I head out the door to get a gallon of milk from the Mini Mart up the street.  On the way, I swing into the post office to see if the first printing of my book has arrived yet from the publishers.  

To my readers (you know who you are), I leave you with this … “Good things come to those who wait!”