I stood at the Starbucks counter inside Target before I commenced my shopping. I’d noticed an employee exit the area, leaving only one woman behind the counter. She looked straight at me and said, “Be patient with me.” It wasn’t so much a request as a demand. I think I may have held up my hands like I was under arrest. “Of course,” I said as pleasantly as I could. She was obviously new and in training. I could see a list of notes beside the register to help her remember things. She was about my age, and I could see the fear in her eyes. I felt for her. I know I would be anxiety ridden too if I had to learn the myriad number of drink combinations for which Starbucks’ customers are famous. But I admired the way she’d expressed her need for patience. She didn’t equivocate. She essentially claimed patience for herself. 

And couldn’t we all use more patience at this time of year as we head into the holidays? More patience from others and with others. Instead of relishing time and relaxing during Thanksgiving and Christmas, we tend to ramp up the stress and busyness. We have events that crowd our schedules: our children have holiday programs and concerts; we may be invited to holiday parties or events; we may host an event of our own; we may travel or need to prepare for family to visit. 

In our house, we have two high school basketball players, Jed and Clay, who have tournaments over both holiday breaks. And because one is a senior and one is a freshman, they are going to be at separate tournaments in different places. For someone like me who wants to know the schedule and anticipate all the logistics, tournament brackets present issues in the first place because winning or losing determines the next game time. The last Friday of school before Thanksgiving break, Jed has a game at 7:45 in one location, Clay has a game at 8:00 in another, and we also must retrieve Riley from the airport at midnight. Divide and conquer will be the name of the game on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday leading up to Thanksgiving. The upside is we don’t have to decide where to spend the holidays because basketball means we must stay at home.   

I haven’t shopped for the Thanksgiving meal. Not one child has given me a Christmas list. We haven’t decorated for Christmas yet, and while I love the finished product, the process of getting everything out and putting the empty boxes back up can be exhausting. I need to make a couple of doctor appointments to get the most out of insurance benefits but who knows if that will happen. All while trying to make sure nothing falls through the cracks, like ensuring Alex has nice clothes for his first orchestra performance.   

If we let it, the to do list becomes so long during the holiday season, it can strangle us. So, this is my reminder to all of us. Be Patient! Be patient with the people we only encounter briefly who are trying to do their jobs like the lady at Starbucks. Be patient with other drivers because I’m convinced the holiday stress pours over onto the roads (I need this reminder a lot). Be patient with our family members even when they are getting on our last nerves. Be patient with ourselves because none of it will be perfect compared to unreasonable expectations that we may put on ourselves and others. Let’s attempt to enjoy this time of year, which can be beautiful if we can be patient and simply be.