I.....is for Instant

and also for the impatience that occurs when instant isn't instant enough.

We live in an instant society. We have become so used to things happening quickly that we have lost our ability to wait....or at least to wait without being frustrated and annoyed. This is something that sort of sneakily developed over a period of time.....common ordinary events or requests were being fulfilled faster and faster to an ever-more demanding public. Somehow our memories of having to wait .... (gasp)....DAYS..... for something has dimmed. Our patience has flown the coop.

The computer has a lot to do with it but it actually started way before then. I can remember when I was a kid and if a food item had the words "instant" on the label....my mom was all for it. Anything to save time. Remember Tang, the instant orange drink? Remember Instant Coffee? To my coffee-loving mom.....this was the greatest invention of all time. Radios started coming out with 'instant on' features and soon TV followed....no more waiting for the tubes to warm up because there were no longer any tubes.

Now we are so used to just pushing a button and within a second or two we have our result. FAX machines can send documents across the nation in a minute or so and you can email your friend on the other side of the world in seconds! Snap a picture and see it within a couple seconds. No more waiting a week or so for developing. We have taken all this instantaneous-ness for granted. We expect it everywhere. We don't want to wait for anything.

But sometimes we have to wait. Government is famous for making us wait....they are especially fond of the "we never received your request, please re-submit" excuse. Thus delaying the receipt of the information you are seeking. Grocery store lines can be frustrating, especially if you're tired and you're in a hurry. Appointments to see the doctor....sometimes I've waited more than an hour past my appointment time. Traffic is a major problem and in our instant society, I know being stuck in a traffic jam must be akin to being tied down on a fire-anthill to some people.

Do you realize that your minor children and/or grandchildren have never known anything different than an instant society? They have never really had to wait for much. I saw evidence of that when my grandson came to visit me for a few weeks one summer. He was very impatient and even had trouble waiting 3 minutes for microwave popcorn.

As you know, everything has limits and I'm seriously wondering when its going to stop. When will we have reached our limit on 'instant'.....and when we do, what will all these impatient people do then? "Wait" will have been removed from their vocabulary and an internal meltdown could be imminent. I can see where doctors will be prescribing plenty of tranquilizers sometime in the future......after you wait to get in to see him. In the meantime, make time to stop and smell the roses.....and kick impatience to the curb.