Oh, patience... where are you?
I can wait a long time for children to do things. Like, cry and kick and scream when their world is upside-down, or pick up after themselves, or eat. I can wait for my puppy to do things, like relieve herself on a walk or stop trying to see if she can fit the cat's head in her mouth or warm up to the big dogs at the dog park. I can wait for big events. I can wait in line. I can wait in traffic and I never honk.
But there are things that really test my patience, like my future. I like to know what I'll be doing. It's a control thing. I like to plan it out. Even if that eliminates opportunities that may arise, I like to stick to the plan.
I was talking to one of my best friends from college today about life and what we're doing. She had hoped to have moved in to a house with her husband by now, near her family - that was the plan. But it can't happen right now because of the economy, so they're in a holding pattern. I feel like I'm in a holding pattern too. So many things I want to do - visit friends in China and Africa and Australia, see Europe, have kids, get a house, visit the mountains in NC, banish the regular "we're broke so it's spaghetti/pb&j" dinner from the rotation... I blame the economy for 98% of my stress right now, though it's not entirely fair to (I have been getting an extra $7 on every paycheck thanks to the tax changes - yay Obama!). *Sigh*
Back in the group therapy days, we discussed the power of encouraging clients to take responsibility. It's a way to decrease victimization. It's a phrase that's oddly empowering: "... and I take full responsibility for that." You can add it to almost any complaint and just see what happens. So I can be upset that we just don't have the money... and I take full responsibility for that. Now I'm the position to do something about it.
Which means I should probably get off the computer and back to the job hunt.
I can wait a long time for children to do things. Like, cry and kick and scream when their world is upside-down, or pick up after themselves, or eat. I can wait for my puppy to do things, like relieve herself on a walk or stop trying to see if she can fit the cat's head in her mouth or warm up to the big dogs at the dog park. I can wait for big events. I can wait in line. I can wait in traffic and I never honk.
But there are things that really test my patience, like my future. I like to know what I'll be doing. It's a control thing. I like to plan it out. Even if that eliminates opportunities that may arise, I like to stick to the plan.
I was talking to one of my best friends from college today about life and what we're doing. She had hoped to have moved in to a house with her husband by now, near her family - that was the plan. But it can't happen right now because of the economy, so they're in a holding pattern. I feel like I'm in a holding pattern too. So many things I want to do - visit friends in China and Africa and Australia, see Europe, have kids, get a house, visit the mountains in NC, banish the regular "we're broke so it's spaghetti/pb&j" dinner from the rotation... I blame the economy for 98% of my stress right now, though it's not entirely fair to (I have been getting an extra $7 on every paycheck thanks to the tax changes - yay Obama!). *Sigh*
Back in the group therapy days, we discussed the power of encouraging clients to take responsibility. It's a way to decrease victimization. It's a phrase that's oddly empowering: "... and I take full responsibility for that." You can add it to almost any complaint and just see what happens. So I can be upset that we just don't have the money... and I take full responsibility for that. Now I'm the position to do something about it.
Which means I should probably get off the computer and back to the job hunt.
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