Do you consider yourself a patient person? - spinoff of Jeanne/Dana

luvmykids wrote: Their posts about being patient or impatient made me realize how patient I've become since we moved. I'm sure a large part of it is that I'm a little less stressed now that DH isn't gone all the time, but I also think a big part of it is the culture here; everyone (or almost) is so happy and mellow and just enjoying moseying along that I don't even notice now when something takes longer than it should. Chatty clerks don't bother me anymore, most of the time I just join the conversation I still find myself rushing around, but it doesn't bother me that others don't. Here, for me, having to wait is just an opportunity to sit and enjoy.

So I'm curious, if you're patient or not, and if you think it's related to the general culture where you live.

DVFlyer replied: VERY patient... my wife hates it.

luvmykids replied:
Really? I can't wait for DH to catch on to the slower pace here

Although I do have to admit, he's a lot more patient with the kids than I am. And, for some reason, it always suprises me

cameragirl21 replied: I'm very impatient although I've mellowed out quite a bit since a series of recent events in my life.
I would have sworn I have ADD but one doc once told me that I focus really well and if only it weren't for that then he too would say I have ADD so his explanation is that I'm a triple type A who wants results RIGHT NOW. So true.
But like I said, I've learned to settle down a lot and lately find myself deeply inhaling and exhaling and when asked by a friend who observed this what I was doing, I found myself replying with, "breathing...just breathing."
Before I never took the time to breathe and I always thought that my constantly out of breath status was due to asthma....

Danalana replied: I haven't experienced clerks chatting with each other, really, so I can't comment on that. I was talking about a cashier who just happens to be a little slower or (God forbid!!) makes a mistake which takes a little longer to correct. I guess I'm patient because I can put myself in their shoes. Of course, we all have our bad days, but I'm talking just in general. One thing I'm not as patient with is traffic. We have like 2 million Sunday drivers around here

DVFlyer replied:
I could wait forever (ok, maybe not quite that long) for someone in a checkout lane etc. and be fine. If someone doesn't click their pen clicker fast enough, my wife gets antsy.

I guess when I'm in a hurry, things might bother me more, but that's rare.

CantWait replied: Patient
Ya right!!!!!!!!

It's definetly me, I don't think it has to do with culture, where I live, anything. I'm just NOT patient. This is something I'm always working at, and I am a bit more patient then I was a couple years ago, a bit.

msoulz replied: Sadly, I am Veruca Salt - I want it NOW!

However, I can be more patient but it is a struggle for me. Some days are better than others and the older I get the better I am at it.

My3LilMonkeys replied: I have great patience most of the time. When I worked customer service I always got the "slow" callers (the ones who need everything explained 500 times ) transferred to me because I was the only one who could deal with them without going crazy.

I am very impatient with the internet when it's slow though...and I tend to get impatient with DH when he's making us late for things.

jcc64 replied: I am impatient, but not cruelly so. If a clerk makes an honest mistake, it's not like I take her/him down ( I did, once upon a time, work just about every low wage service job on the planet--chamber maid, supermarket cashier, retail clerk, customer service rep where you do nothing but deal with complaining customers all day long on the phone, so trust me, I do have empathy, having been on the other end of all kinds of bad behavior myself)
I'm talking more about bad, indifferent service--as in, I have no patience for people who don't/won't do their job competently . If I order drinks before dinner and they arrive 30-40 minutes later b/c the waitress is busy flirting with the busboy, I'm sorry, I get pissed off and don't try to hide it. That's what I mean by being "New York-y." That type of incompetence just doesn't fly in NYC. If I don't say something, trust me, the guy at the next table certainly will. It's the way of the world there. I just assumed it was like that everywhere until I went out down South and out West, where people are relentlessly cheerful and polite. My gfs, from southern Illinois and Denver respectively, are constantly flabbergasted at how "rude" we East Coasters are, but to me, it's just the way it is. We're a loud, demanding lot, I suppose.

luvmykids replied: Jeanne, I wouldn't have pegged you as cruel, just a "typical" East coaster, and I don't mean that in a bad way. In the other thread, both you and Dana came off like the stereotype for your region....you, the New Yorker, and her the Southern genteel

jcc64 replied: Monica, if you heard my actual speaking voice, you'd REALLY think I come off as a New Yorker!

mckayleesmom replied: It really depends on the situation


If I get a nice cashier that is slow....I'm patient
If I get a rude cashier that is slow...I'm impatient

If I need to be somewhere and dh is making me late...impatient...I hate being late

Internet slow...impatient

youngmomofone replied: Im impatient and it causes problems. My dh is very patient and will think things through, take his time to plan stuff, make sure he has everything before we go somewhere, where as Im swinging the keys around because we need to go NOW. Therefore it gets on dh's nerves because I totally missed something that he caught by being patient and it would have ruined our trip. For instance, we had to go to a meeting on Thursday. I was ready to go and was actually cussing my dh in my head because he was taking forever to get ready. He found the papers that we needed because me being impatient didn't take the time to look around and make sure we have everything. Pissed him off.

Other times is that I don't think ahead. I wanted our whole house packed and loaded up so we could leave that same night to go to Texas. Well, I grabbed two duffel bags that I thought had our clothes in and put it in the car while the packers were here. I didn't take the time to look and see that one of the bags had military gear in it, therefore the packers packed a bag of our clothes that had most of our stuff. My dh said that if it wasnt for me needing maternity clothes, that we wouldn't get any new clothing because I didnt take the time needed to make sure that I had everything that we needed before the packers left the house.

I am trying though. I will learn to take the time to think ahead, and will try to get better about not wanting to rush.

redchief replied: I'm patient. Lisa's not.

Danalana replied: Jeanne, my favorite is "relentlessly cheerful and polite"
And Monica, I love the "Southern genteel"

Danalana replied: I wanted to add that we have very impatient/rude people here, as well. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a cashier thanks the patron, and then he (or she) proceeds to leave without saying a darned thing back! I swear, some people really were raised in a barn. It seriously makes me want to shake them and say "Hey! Can you hear?"

Calimama replied: It's situational for me.

youngmomofone replied: I'd like to add that when it comes to cashiers and waitresses/waiters, I am more patient because I know that dealing with customers takes time sometimes. But, I must say that one time a waitress took 20 minutes to bring my daughter and my drinks and she got me a soda instead of a tea...I could have easily been rude, but I chose to tell her politely that she got the wrong drink for me. I know being a waitress is a stressful job, and I didn't want to add to her stress by being rude and drawing unwanted attention to the situation by her employer.

I used to be a cashier at a fast food joint when I was a teenager, and my mom has been a cashier at Walmart for a while. She has told me stories of how rude customers are to her especially when something happens that is out of her control, so I really do make sure that I am not rude. If there is a problem I will be polite because in my experience being polite gets me faster service.

coasterqueen replied:
Same for me. If I'm not in a rush or the kids aren't going crazy I'm pretty impatient. Although Dh would probably say I'm not.

A&A'smommy replied: I have alway been a VERY VERY impatient person, I hate being late with a PASSION but that comes from parents that were ALWAYS late for everything DROVE ME CRAZY!!!!! I'm typically early for everything but I'm NOT rude not to other people I try VERY VERY hard to be kind. I have to say though since having children I'm much more patient that I use to be and its been better with each child