Pack Your Patience

My bestie's husband is from Texas. On a visit there a few years ago she posted on Facebook that a woman on the radio in Dallas advised everyone to "pack their patience" to deal with the traffic. Such a delightful saying, and much to my husband's chagrin I say this all the time (I'll admit partly because it annoys him.)

This would give me extreme road rage.
Here's the thing - I'm not very patient. I'm not good at sitting back and waiting for things to happen. I'm a doer. I MAKE things happen. That's one of the ways both running and traveling are good for me. I'm restless. I need to get out, see things, keep moving all the time. If I stop...well, stopping is just not an option.

Traveling to vibrant cities is critical for my well being. I get my public transit/walkability/density/vibrant neighborhood fix and then come back here and continue to work at the Capitol hoping that one day I'll be sitting in committee hearings where everyone is arguing about place instead of fighting over who knows what bill that really doesn't move us forward.

And running? Well that's my salvation. A good run is a way to solve any problem, celebrate any victory and burn off impatience that eats away at me on so many different levels with so many different issues - work, waiting for a baby, frustration about something or someone - you name it. A run never disappoints you. It never hurts your feelings. It never makes you wait. A run is the one thing that will always be there waiting for you when the dust settles and you can get out there again.

The last 15 months have been the ultimate test of my patience, and it's taught me to relinquish control (albeit unwillingly), live in the moment and enjoy every single day before life changes. Then we will enjoy every day of the new challenge that's thrown at us. So when I'm traveling, running or just living I'm always mindful to pack my patience.

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