The Waiting Game

I’m always in a hurry to get from November to April. I hate winter, hate being cold and having to deal with hats, coats, gloves, etc. Not a fan of ice or snow, either. By January, I’m desperately in need of sunshine – not the clear sun of a sharp winter day, but warm, skin-toasting rays of summer sun.

This year, however, I have another reason to rush to April. I need information. My family and I will be in limbo through these cold winter months. We’ll be waiting for news of college acceptances, coach’s decisions, financial aid packages, NSF grants and PhD programs.

There’s a lot on the line. For example, will I be able to start the kitchen project we’ve talked about for years, or will that be pushed to the back burner for another four years? Will our kids be living on opposite sides of the country for the next few years? Will our daughter still be in school, or will she get a job and begin the no-vacation phase of life? How much support will she need?

We won’t know the answers to these questions until April.

Patience has never been my strong suit, so months of waiting sounds like pure torture to me. I’m thinking the bears have the right idea. I’d like to stuff myself on a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, second helpings of pecan pie for good measure, and then drift into hibernation for four months. I’d love to enjoy a long, deep sleep then wake to spring sunshine and all the answers to the questions that will determine the course of our lives for the next several years!