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On Patience (and Avocados) 

11/5/2016

19 Comments

 
Picture
​It’s a valuable asset to have, and one that I’m sure a whole bunch of people wish they could muster up more
of—myself included.

Fortunately, I only have to gaze at my kitchen window sill to see, and marvel, how it all works.

I’m talking about patience.   

Just to be clear, I’m not thinking of the Christian definition, where the noun is classified as one of the seven heavenly virtues.  In this particular circus, patience means forgiveness and mercy, as well as possessing the forbearance that comes from moderation.  (For inquiring minds, the other six virtues are chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness
and humility.)

Rather, I’m thinking of the non-secular description in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.  Here, patience is “(Being) able to remain calm, and not become annoyed when waiting for a long time, or when dealing with problems or difficult people.”  MW adds that the word also means “done in a careful way over a long period of time, without hurrying.”

I can use an extra dose of all of this right now, because my daily calendar has taken A Slight Swerve. 

With a little push, but still on my own terms, I’ve made the choice to leave the part-time job I’ve had for a few years now.  I haven’t been happy with it for a while; it’s also not my career, never has been, and never will be. Still, this work has provided a small but dependable paycheck, which is great for helping out with utility bills; paying for yoga classes, and buying the occasional pair of great earrings or cookbook.

I’m lucky in that I have a safety net: my Social Security is about to kick in, and it’s going to provide about the same amount of income, except this time, the checks will be tax free.  (I remain dumbfounded that I’m of an age to qualify, but that’s another post for another time.)

However, as much as I love reading; watching movies, and vigorously participating in social media from my office laptop, I also know that I have another need—and that’s to be out in the world.

So, to that end, I’ve launched an errand-running business. 

Being a California girl clown, I love to drive, and being pretty much the opposite of a hermit, I love to meet new people and socialize.  It’s the perfect fit, and I even have experience: I once worked for a Hollywood-based messenger company run by the nephew of Don Costa, Frank Sinatra’s long-time musical arranger.  (Of course, Sinatra was a client, as well as other performers and motion picture studios.  And even though cell phones and Google maps were decades away, it proved to be a pretty fun gig for a college student.)

Toward making my new enterprise known, I’ve come up with a name—Roadrunner Girl—designed a flyer, and have had nearly 100 made so far, all in eye-catching chartreuse. I just ordered business cards, too; when they arrive, I’ll be handing them out, along with more flyers.  And of course, there’s the requisite Facebook page, which now has more than 100 “likes.” (Here’s the link, at www.facebook.com/theroadrunnergirl/.)   

Given that my price is right ($15 an hour), and that there’s a need, I know that eventually, calls will start coming in.    
But while I’m waiting—in other words, while I’m trying very hard to be patient—there’s that window sill. 

Here, I see two glass jelly jars filled with water; in each jar, an avocado seed is kept afloat by toothpicks.  One has multiple roots and several leaves—I’ll be planting that in a red-brick colored pot soon.  The other, which already boasted one root when I cut the avocado open, now has a few more white tendrils in the water, as well as that first tender branch, just popping up.

Like every other avocado seed I’ve nurtured over the years, getting these pits to root took time—a lot of time.

Indeed, the appearance of the first root can often take months.  That’s not to say that there isn’t some sort of cellular miracle/activity going on within the seed; it’s just that it’s all invisible to the human eye.  The appearance of the initial root, in fact, verifies that happy growing vibes have been taking place all along.

Once the seeds sprout about half a dozen leaves, I transfer them from their jelly jar homes into containers full of dark soil, where they’ll probably continue to grow.  They’ll have company sitting next to the two other avocado plants I currently have on my hearth, one of which is about three feet high. So, while I’m not always particularly patient with my life, and its inevitable crooked paths, I can also see that having patience can lead to some beautiful plants.

Of course, sometimes for reasons unknown, the pits won’t grow at all.

Despite fresh water every day; the perfect diffused sunlight, and lots of other pampering, I will never get a new avocado plant.  So it’s then, just like any new venture—including an errand-running business—that I make the decision to either move on, or give it another month or two.

Only time—which should go hand-in-hand with patience—will tell whether my new idea will be successful. 

But until then, I have to remember the importance of properly preparing the seeds.

I’ll also know that no matter the outcome, I’ve done my very best.  

How has patience helped, or hindered, you?  I look forward to your comments!         
19 Comments
Larry Grant
11/5/2016 02:07:31 pm

Thank you for your patience with me. I'm well aware that I test it at times. I can be quite the avocado pit.

Reply
Hilary
11/5/2016 02:35:55 pm

This is probably the dance for most couples, I think! : ) xo

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kerri
11/5/2016 02:40:52 pm

Your writing is a delicious treat! Be patient with your business. I have friends in your neighborhood, so give me some cards to hand out. Good luck! Larry, your post was funnnnnnny!

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Hilary Grant
11/5/2016 03:20:36 pm

The cards have ARRIVED! I know that once I get that first client or two, it will have a "I tried her and I like her and you should try her" trickle down effect. Just doing my best to be... **patient.** Re: Larry's comment, I can be a pit as well! xo

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Jackie
11/5/2016 03:37:54 pm

Seems like the right fit! Wish I lived closer to indulge in your homemade cakes. If I did, I would have to become a road runner myself, to keep the pounds at bay! PS. Did you check copyright of RR image? Just be careful. Warner, like Disney are very protective of their property.

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Hilary
11/5/2016 03:57:55 pm

I will say that my baked goods are addictive, which is one reason I don' t bake nearly as much as I used to. And yes, I think there's a definite market for this sort of business here, especially for that population who can't drive, or for whatever reason, have chosen to not drive! I know about the RR image and will wait to see if I get called on it. I know that my daughter's little nursery school in Hollywood--called Christopher Robin--was called on it when it had a mural painted with the Disney depiction of Winnie the Pooh. And yup, the school redid the mural.
:)

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Becky
11/6/2016 10:59:50 am

I think I recall your mom had some avocados that made it to trees, is that right? I've tried many times and it never has worked for me, but I love the idea of cultivating patience. Often required with children and husbands (and wives) and it is more about the journey than the metaphoric tree, isn't it?

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Hilary
11/6/2016 11:41:46 am

It definitely wasn't her; she always joked that she had a black thumb when it came to gardening! My best luck with avocado seeds has been getting the original avocado from friend's trees, or a farmers' market. Supermarket avos... who knows what they are sprayed with to not make the pits want to grow? But yes, it's DEFINITELY about the journey!

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leslie spoon
11/6/2016 03:11:26 pm

Hilary I ran out of patience when I turned 55. It is something that I have to learn again. Now that I am painting again that may help me. Give your new business idea time to get going. It should work.

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Hilary
11/6/2016 03:45:25 pm

Why was 55 the marker? I think doing any of the arts... music, painting, writing, can only help when it comes to cultivating patience. Also yoga and meditating and BREATHING! : )

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Jamie Lewis
11/7/2016 06:56:03 pm

I am happy to read that you took the brave step of forgoing a "for sure but not for you" part time job to start up something that sounds like a terrific business idea! Love the analogy where patience is concerned; waiting for those new clients, and waiting for the avocados to grow.....both ventures will yield things of value. Thanks for another great blog!

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Hilary
11/7/2016 08:02:04 pm

Thanks so much! Yes, I think the analogy is accurate. We will see! :)

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Susan Jordan
11/11/2016 10:49:01 am

The first thing that comes to mind for me is that I'm almost 3 1/2 years in to not having a full-time, permanent job. Ever since I was laid off my job of 14 1/2 years back in 2013, I've been either unemployed, underemployed, or temporarily employed. The job I hold right now runs out of hours sometime in January 2017. I HAVE to practice patience and perseverance in the face of this reality, or I would lose everything. Patience is one of the best possible things to practice. Because of it (and perseverance), I have two more job interviews next week, both for the municipality I'm working for now, and one for the department I'm working for now (where I worked short-term for last year and again this year). Having patience has most of all brought me some peace in a very non-peaceful process. It's worthwhile to practice it whenever possible.

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Hilary
11/11/2016 12:52:54 pm

Thanks so much for this great contribution to the thread. Just like you, NOT having patience, especially in these tricky and scary times, is NOT an option. We just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and along with the perseverance you mentioned, take it one day at a time. Also, cultivating patience is something that NO ONE can take away from you. :)

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George Marshall link
11/12/2016 06:38:48 pm

Good luck and Best Wishes with your new venture Hilary.

For me it was a case of be careful what you pray for. Many, many years ago, someone in church was giving his testimony of how he had prayed to God saying he would do any kind of work that was given to him, even washing toilets if it came to that. It turned out that he felt humbled and his patience tested when he got a job delivering pizza. But I thought, "not a bad deal, delivering pizza!". So I prayed also that I would wash toilets if that was the job that came to me. But I did get a job washing toilets, 20 of them every day as well as mopping all the floors daily in a nursing home. It was quite an experience. I learned so much about life at that job. I was young and each day I would visit with the aged. Their life was bare other than the concentration of their own life experiences which they bore within their own character. I saw the happy, joyful, optimistic ones and those who had become the prisoners of bitterness and every phase between those extremes. In the end, we are our character.

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Hilary
11/13/2016 10:50:38 am

As we get older, we realize what we can do, and what we can't do... but I don't think I would ever have been able to take a full-time job cleaning toilets and mopping floors, even as a first or second job. Kudos to you on that! But as you also point out, look what you learned at that job... and it wasn't just the best and most efficient way to clean a toilet . It was learning about what made a person's life.. his or her life. So much of that has to do with what that person's CORE is, even in old age... as you put it, their character. I can only hope that growing my patience will be a part of me when I get to that time in my life. :)

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George Marshall link
11/13/2016 03:43:05 pm

I still smile when I think of the ironic humor involved.

Kim Fonturbel
11/17/2016 08:15:08 pm

Hilary, I saw your flyer very prominently at Ralph's Pharmacy-great job advertising!! Best of luck on your business!!, I'm glad you brought it back and are giving it time-it should really take off. When I think of what jobs i have done and what i was meant to do its kids. babysitter since 1981, studied child and human development and and on to my job with at-risk kids in SLO. Thanks for the great article.

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Hilary Grant
11/17/2016 09:08:35 pm

Thank you, Kim. Yes, the folks at Ralphs are super nice, aren't they? I've had a lot of lives, including celebrity journalist, tabloid reporter, television producer/researcher, secretary, factory worker, filmmaker, college student and of course, circus clown! Sometimes I look back and think, "Have I really done ALL that?" Yeah, I have! And now, doing my best to cultivate patience for the last big adventure. It never ends if you don't want it to. :)

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    Hilary Roberts Grant

    Journalist, editor, filmmaker, foodie--and a clown! 
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