I'm not a patient person. Well, no wait, that might be a little harsh. Let me be more specific. I am very impatient when it comes to certain things. I've already told you how much of a jerk I am waiting for my coffee at Starbucks. I won't go into all the ways I AM patient, like saving up for something I want, but the ways I'm not as they're much easier to put my finger on. I think there are different kinds of impatience. One in particular is the "I want it NOW" type of attitude. That's me in the coffee shop. It's seeing something you want and doing whatever it takes to get it. It can be using your credit card to buy all sorts of things you don't need. We here in the West are infamous for this Instant Gratification Attitude. We thrive on knowing that we could have just about anything we wanted with enough money and desire.

Another kind of impatience is something I deal with a lot. It's the kind where something seemingly small or trivial really gets under my skin...and usually no one else is bothered by it but me. For example, in church I absolutely cannot stand it when kids cry or talk when I'm trying to concentrate and the parents don't take them out. I get irritated at kids who are loud and obnoxious in public too and their parents don't do anything to help the situation or yell at them. In a quiet setting, whether school, work, church, falling asleep, reading a book or whatever, I really can't stand it to hear certain noises. Noises like incessant coughing, people clearing their throats way too much, snoring, the sound of a pencil against paper that I can hear a mile away, obnoxious whistling. I don't just get a little miffed at these things, they really do make me mad! I am so impatient. This morning we were praying and there was a kid who wouldn't stop talking in the silence and I changed my prayer to "God give me patience!" I am also a really big jerk when I want to walk fast and someone ahead of me is walking at a snail's pace.

Maybe it's cause I'm from a small southern town, but traffic in Orlando is absurd. My friend said she had to get counseling because of it! Ha! Really though, it's ridiculous. I turn into an absolute maniac when someone ticks me off in traffic, and I hope that none of you see me at my worst because you will think I really need counseling. For example, yesterday I am trying to part at Starbucks and this women takes literally 60 seconds to get out of her parking space trying to do a 97 point turn, but it was the only one left, so I waited... and waited... and waited... I am sitting there with the most unenthusiastic ticked off face I could muster that communicates "I am dying a slow death waiting for you". THEN some moron comes speeding around the corner and takes the space before I could pull in because the stupid woman was in front of me. I won't go into the details of what I did after that, but it wasn't a pretty sight.

Yeah, I need more patience.