Waiting is definitely the most difficult part of any endeavor. Whether it is the anticipation of a wrapped box, the days leading up to a trip that’s been planned and dreamed about, or the book coming back from the editor!

I love my editor because I get little progress reports from her as she makes her way through my manuscript. Of course I’m on pins and needles, but her short messages of progress and encouragement keep me on task with the new work I’m writing.

We wait in anticipation for so many things: the garden to sprout and then to mature with fruits and vegetables, the start of the school year, the meeting with a boss for a promotion, the weather to do any number of things, the night to bring the dawn and the dusk to bring the cool night stars, the birth of a new baby, someone to “pop the question,” family to arrive for a visit, children to learn to walk and talk and drive, our birthday to come around, the sweet sound of “I love you” to sound in our ear, for a long day of work to end so we can relax, our favorite singer’s new album to be released, a movie to premier, elections to be over, the toaster to trip, the cookies to come out of the oven, the floor to dry after we mop, the elk to show up in the meadow, God to answer our fervent prayers, our novel to be on the best seller list, someone to like our post, the rain or the snow, the wind to stop, the mail or that package filled with treasure, and of course the dessert tray!

I wonder though, even as I languish in the waiting, whether or not I spend too much time waiting and not enough time living.