Waiting

As much as I make plans in order to avoid wasted time, waiting is an inevitable part of my day. It seems no matter how efficient I am, waiting by the back door on the way out is my destiny.

This morning, Dad needed to come with me as I went grocery shopping. I gave him a ten -minute warning before leaving - my measly attempt at planning. I had reminded him this morning that today was "shopping day" so he had his list, coupons, money, etc laid out on the kitchen table. Without the reminder I would have waited for him to gather up his various parts. That would be good for about 1/2 hour. Believe me when I tell you I've been down this road before.

So Dad has a 10-minute warning. "OK" is his reply. No sweat, this is going great; an hour for shopping, 1/2 hour to put stuff away. I should be able to have lunch at 11 and get some reading in before I leave for lessons at 3:00.

I tell him ok, time to go. He gets up from his chair in the living room, walks into the kitchen where I am waiting. This is going well! Oh, wait. He stops, says he'd better go to the bathroom first. The bathroom is upstairs. So there I am again.

Ten minutes later, we're on our way.