Season Two
Episode 70
Hurry Up and Wait
Hello friends and welcome to Sunday Sip on Afternoon Ti. Each Sunday for the remainder of the year I plan to share a single idea, thought, or meaningful take-away in hopes that you'll be encouraged and inspired as you prepare to enter the next new week of teaching, or in this case a week off of teaching and hopefully a week of rest and time with family and friends.
Our middle school theater students recently put on a play called Hurry Up and Wait. It was a set of short skits where in every scenario someone is rushing to get to a certain outcome only to find that they have to wait and it never goes the way they hope. This phrase "Hurry Up and Wait" is one that refers to a situation where you are forced to hurry in order to complete a certain task, or arrive at a certain destination, by a specified time only to find that nothing is happening - sometimes because other required tasks are still needed to be completed. This is what I've found myself feeling and experiencing during this Christmas season.
There's something about the additional cars on the road and the need to arrive at destinations at specific times that adds extra stress this season. After I hurry to wherever I'm going it's inevitable that I have to wait to find a parking spot. Or wait in line to purchase gifts. Or wait to get into a restaurant. We rush only to wait.
Two particular events happened this past week that made me think about what I'm doing during the hurry up parts and the waiting parts. The first was as I was driving to my husband's work to wrap gifts there. It was a six lane road with a median in the middle where cars could turn. There were a ton of vehicles and one van was trying to turn from the median lane across three lanes of traffic - one lane of which I was in. We were literally going nowhere. The light was red. And two of us stopped in front of the road where the van needed to turn to let him turn. But in the closest lane to the van a vehicle rushed forward and completely blocked the van from turning and then sat there for a few minutes until the light turned green and they could move forward. I felt so bad for the guy in the van. He could have gone ahead and it wouldn't have affected that hurried vehicle at all because we were stopped anyway. In their rush they blocked someone else from moving forward for no good reason at all. It made me realize how unnecessary it is to rush at the expense of others. And to be aware of our surroundings when we're rushed.
The second event was that my youngest daughter came down with the flu. There's never a good time to be sick and with family coming into town to stay with us and events that now needed to be cancelled having sickness in the house wasn't what we'd hoped for. But it forced me to slow down. To realign priorities and as we now wait for the meds to kick in and the flu to be healed. It's a good time to consider how I'm using my time this season - in both the hurrying and the waiting.
How am I using my time as I'm rushing?
How am I reacting internally and externally towards others when I feel rushed? As I'm waiting once I arrive?
What can I do to slow down?
How are you using your time?
How are you reacting to your situations?
My challenge for myself this week - and for you as well - is to consider how you can use the hurrying up times and the waiting times. There are three things I'm encouraged to do to make the most of it:
1- Expect to feel hurried and waiting - then make a plan for how to react
If you expect that it's going to happen then it's easier to deal with it when it happens. I know when I'm going out there there will be more crowds, more traffic. If I go out expecting to be hurried and waiting then I can make a plan to turn on my favorite music or podcasts, to take my time while shopping, to pray for others, and not be irritated.
2- Look outside yourself
Don't be in such a hurry that you keep others from moving forward. Consider that others around you are facing things you are unaware of and be more gracious and more compassionate than usual. Nothing is so urgent important that we frustrate those around us and treat others rudely. No present is worth it and no negative attitude is worth it.
3- Be fully present in whatever situation you find yourself
There was one night this week where we had three events at the same time - a piano recital, a soccer game, and a basketball practice. Jeremy was working and I was able to juggle attending all three events with some forethought, but it was hard to remain focused on where I was because I was thinking about what time it was, when I needed to leave, wondering how traffic was going to be, and if I'd find the soccer fields at a school. Everything worked out, but I felt very scattered in my mind. It was hard to be fully present. And over these next weeks off I want to make the most of wherever I am with whoever I am with. I encourage you to use the hurrying and waiting times to be fully present - whether you're with family and friends or alone in your car with your thoughts.
Have a wonderful week off from teaching as you hurry up and wait.
Episode 70
Hurry Up and Wait
Hello friends and welcome to Sunday Sip on Afternoon Ti. Each Sunday for the remainder of the year I plan to share a single idea, thought, or meaningful take-away in hopes that you'll be encouraged and inspired as you prepare to enter the next new week of teaching, or in this case a week off of teaching and hopefully a week of rest and time with family and friends.
Our middle school theater students recently put on a play called Hurry Up and Wait. It was a set of short skits where in every scenario someone is rushing to get to a certain outcome only to find that they have to wait and it never goes the way they hope. This phrase "Hurry Up and Wait" is one that refers to a situation where you are forced to hurry in order to complete a certain task, or arrive at a certain destination, by a specified time only to find that nothing is happening - sometimes because other required tasks are still needed to be completed. This is what I've found myself feeling and experiencing during this Christmas season.
There's something about the additional cars on the road and the need to arrive at destinations at specific times that adds extra stress this season. After I hurry to wherever I'm going it's inevitable that I have to wait to find a parking spot. Or wait in line to purchase gifts. Or wait to get into a restaurant. We rush only to wait.Two particular events happened this past week that made me think about what I'm doing during the hurry up parts and the waiting parts. The first was as I was driving to my husband's work to wrap gifts there. It was a six lane road with a median in the middle where cars could turn. There were a ton of vehicles and one van was trying to turn from the median lane across three lanes of traffic - one lane of which I was in. We were literally going nowhere. The light was red. And two of us stopped in front of the road where the van needed to turn to let him turn. But in the closest lane to the van a vehicle rushed forward and completely blocked the van from turning and then sat there for a few minutes until the light turned green and they could move forward. I felt so bad for the guy in the van. He could have gone ahead and it wouldn't have affected that hurried vehicle at all because we were stopped anyway. In their rush they blocked someone else from moving forward for no good reason at all. It made me realize how unnecessary it is to rush at the expense of others. And to be aware of our surroundings when we're rushed.
The second event was that my youngest daughter came down with the flu. There's never a good time to be sick and with family coming into town to stay with us and events that now needed to be cancelled having sickness in the house wasn't what we'd hoped for. But it forced me to slow down. To realign priorities and as we now wait for the meds to kick in and the flu to be healed. It's a good time to consider how I'm using my time this season - in both the hurrying and the waiting.
How am I using my time as I'm rushing?
How am I reacting internally and externally towards others when I feel rushed? As I'm waiting once I arrive?
What can I do to slow down?
How are you using your time?
How are you reacting to your situations?
My challenge for myself this week - and for you as well - is to consider how you can use the hurrying up times and the waiting times. There are three things I'm encouraged to do to make the most of it:
1- Expect to feel hurried and waiting - then make a plan for how to react
If you expect that it's going to happen then it's easier to deal with it when it happens. I know when I'm going out there there will be more crowds, more traffic. If I go out expecting to be hurried and waiting then I can make a plan to turn on my favorite music or podcasts, to take my time while shopping, to pray for others, and not be irritated.
2- Look outside yourself
Don't be in such a hurry that you keep others from moving forward. Consider that others around you are facing things you are unaware of and be more gracious and more compassionate than usual. Nothing is so urgent important that we frustrate those around us and treat others rudely. No present is worth it and no negative attitude is worth it.
3- Be fully present in whatever situation you find yourself
There was one night this week where we had three events at the same time - a piano recital, a soccer game, and a basketball practice. Jeremy was working and I was able to juggle attending all three events with some forethought, but it was hard to remain focused on where I was because I was thinking about what time it was, when I needed to leave, wondering how traffic was going to be, and if I'd find the soccer fields at a school. Everything worked out, but I felt very scattered in my mind. It was hard to be fully present. And over these next weeks off I want to make the most of wherever I am with whoever I am with. I encourage you to use the hurrying and waiting times to be fully present - whether you're with family and friends or alone in your car with your thoughts.
Have a wonderful week off from teaching as you hurry up and wait.
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