Wait

Wait. 

Does that mean stop? Slow down? Cease moving?

Is it an order or a state of being? A noun or a verb?

I think of a hospital waiting room, where I sit anticipating information about the condition of a loved one’s surgery.

Or how about holding the phone to my ear expecting someone to answer my call?

Waiting is like a gap in time, pausing, postponing, expecting.

And it is frustrating.

It is an action that requires no action. So how does that work? 

I tell my dogs to wait, and they stop, expecting to continue their romp down the sidewalk. Wait is not as definitive as ‘stop’ but it is a request to hesitate, a more temporary condition.

The ‘waiting room’ isn’t a permanent destination, but rather a temporary location where I can fret, worry, hope, and call on fate to intercede for a positive outcome. 

How much time in my day is spent in the waiting mode? I’m afraid to put a clock to measuring the minutes or hours I wait.

I wait for the coffee to brew, for the eggs to cook, for the car to warm up or cool down, for the bank to open, for the bus to arrive, for a response to an inquiry, for my favorite show to begin.

Waiting.

My gosh, I wait between actions, but waiting can be an action in itself.

I now understand why a waiter is called a waiter. A waiter must wait on someone to come in, on decisions from others, on the actions of a chef.

Are you wondering why I am even writing about waiting, and why I’m confused about its meaning? 

I haven’t a clue. I’m just waiting for an answer.

Come join me in the room of waiting and wondering.

https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/03/22/weekly-prompts-wednesday-challenge-wait/

https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/03/22/weekly-prompts-wednesday-challenge-wait/

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