I'm Impatient

I am impatient.  I don't like to rely on others (or wait on others).  I was reminded of this character flaw this morning.  The plan was to go meet a friend at Dilli Haat at 11AM.  Steve would drive me an another friend to the Metro at 10:30AM on his way to the airport.  But as we got closer to 10:30 he said that he would probably go later and I should just take the shared auto to the Metro station.  So I called my friend to say that we should go.  But she wasn't ready to go.  She had to wait for her husband to get home.  So I called the friend we were going to meet and told her we would be late.  No problem.  I sat and played Sudoku.

As I played Sudoku I pondered my impatience.  I don't like relying on others.   When I have a schedule to keep, even if it is not important, I like to be on time.  I would prefer to go by myself.  Like even just getting a ride to the Metro station is a lesson in patience for me.  I have to wait for someone to drive me and they usually take longer then I feel it would take me.  I end up having to wait.  I don't like waiting.

But really, what does it matter to be late.  Most things that I worry about being late to I am still just barely late.  And the ulcer in my stomach is bigger (I don't really have one).  But I get all tied up inside and feel grouchy, which I don't like.  I am working on relaxing.  I tell myself I can't change the situation so I might as well relax.  I think I am getting better.  Like today I sat on my beanbag chair and just played Sudoku.  No problem.  Less stress but still some.  Maybe I am growing up.

Team Player

I am not a team player.  At least that is what one of my job performance reviewers said.  I guess it is true.  I can be a team player at times, but really I work better alone.  Is it a negative quality?  I felt like the reviewer thought it was.  But don't we need people who can work well alone?  I am a great team of one player!

Today I was thinking again about not working well as a team.  Our office just got painted and today we had to clean it.  What a mess.  So several of us started cleaning.  But I soon realized that I don't do well with a group of people trying to clean, each their own way.  I cleaned a table off and 10 minutes later one of the other team people cleaned it.  And now, 5 hours later, it is dirty again.  Because after two of us washed the table there was more work going on and things were piled on the table.  So again it became dusty.

If I was working alone on this particular task I think I could finish in record time.  Now it isn't that the team approach is bad, it is just that for me it is chaotic.  The team did a nice job of making the office clean, but they had to do it without me.  I get frustrated.  Because my team approach is like playing solitaire.  It only takes one.  And if too many are playing solitaire then it gets frustrating.

Driving in Delhi

I hate it!  Every time I come home from having been out in traffic I say, "I never want to go out again!!!!!"  This week I have been out three times.  Each time is just as bad as the one before it.  And each time I have told myself to stop going out.  Just stay at home with my safe pillows and chai always ready to be made.  No stress.  Well actually the only stress at home is trying to get Micah to do his homework.  But I will take that any day if I don't have to go out on the streets.

People don't drive according to rules.  I'm a rule follower.  I like people to drive in their lanes.  Especially my husband.  I like people to go on the correct side of the street.  I like there to be at least two inches between cars (more really).  I like cars to turn left from the left lane and right from the right lane.  I don't like facing buses head on.  I don't like all the honking.

Delhi has all the things about traffic that I don't like.  I feel my stress level rising.  I try to think soothing thoughts.  I lay down in the back.  I close my eyes.  I tell myself to go to my happy place.  Anything to try to distract me from the reality around me.  Today I thought maybe I should practice yoga in the car to try to relax.  But all the sharp stops and bumps would probably not work for yoga in the car.

So if you don't see me at church, school functions, or any activity outside my house, you know why.  I had a nervous breakdown.

Pregnant

No, not me.

When people are pregnant there are lots of dos and don'ts.  And when you go to another country, their dos and don'ts are different then your do's and don'ts.  It makes you think about yours and wonder if there is any logic to them.

For instance, in America pregnant women are warned not to sit in hot tubs.  I guess the heat isn't good for the baby.  Or maybe there is some other reason.  But in Japan women sit in hot water all the time.  They don't seem to boil their babies.  So which is it?  Should pregnant women sit in hot water or not?

Here in India I have heard several weird (to me) beliefs.  One is that women should eat a lot of butter or ghee the last month of their pregnancy.  It somehow makes the baby come out easily.  One lady told me that when the first pains start you should drink chai with ghee in it.  And drink it hot.  She has never heard of a lady needing a c-section with this method.

In America many women crave pickles.  Here in India they crave tamarind.  Recently I heard people say that pregnant women should not eat papaya.  Then I heard they shouldn't have lemons.  Some people won't eat sushi because it has raw fish.  Many Asians eat raw fish during pregnancy without problems.  And last, I heard that tamarind is bad for pregnant women.

In America we tell pregnant women they should exercise.  Many women jog or run throughout their pregnancy.  Here women are told to lay around and do nothing, especially no jumping.

I'm not a doctor and haven't read a bunch of books on safe pregnancy, but I can tell you what I did.  I drank a Dr. Pepper almost daily when I was pregnant.  I played racquetball in the beginning and exercised through the whole pregnancy.  I ate whatever I wanted.  I didn't have an opportunity to sit in a hottub but I took showers and baths.  I did not drink tea with ghee in it nor eat lots of butter.  However, I did end up with a c-section so I wish I would have tried the butter.  I tried jumping to get Micah go drop.  I drank a chocolate milkshake to try to start contractions.  And we survived.

Cover Up

I am not a pastor.  Nor am I a man.  So I don't know if a pastor would struggle with this, but I will say it anyway.  I think women need to dress better, meaning cover up more, for church.

I imagine that a pastor looking out over his flock may at times notice a woman.  Maybe she is wearing a low cut blouse and that catches his attention.  I don't want my pastor to struggle with this.  I want to protect him.  At least at church, where we are being taught God's word, we should be respectful in the way we dress.

So women, listen up, and cover up!