by Robin Landry

Created on: May 06, 2009

High speed internet connections, movies on demand, microwave ovens, E-mail and instant messaging; while these technological marvels do have their benefits, they also possess a downside. All of these innovations are killing the art of waiting.

Unlike so many people around me I don't like to rush. Taking my time is a luxury that I am reluctant to surrender. I don't understand the folks who race up to each stoplight and then screech to a halt when the light is still red. I am genuinely confused by "road rage" during rush hour traffic jams. Where are these people going in such a hurry?

Some years ago my former husband's grandmother would tease me about my habit of making tea by putting the kettle on rather than simply "zapping" the water right in the cup by using the microwave. "For a young person you are certainly old fashioned," she would say. I would flash a good natured smile and continue to wait for the kettle to boil.

For me, having a cup of tea is more about the experience than about the beverage itself. When I was a little girl my grandmother would make tea for me and serve it in the fancy cups that came with her punchbowl. We would also have toast, lightly buttered and cut into neat little triangles. While waiting for the kettle to boil she and I would talk about all of the weighty issues that happened to be on my five, six or seven year old mind. We discussed serious topics like the cover stories in the Weekly Reader and the challenges associated with learn to write in cursive. Or the conversation might be lighter, as when we would speculate about what fashions all of the best dressed Barbie dolls might be sporting on imaginary runways across the country in the coming season.

Why would anyone want to give up this kind of deliciously relaxing time by heating water in a microwave?

I also don't like the "just add water" instant oatmeal or cocoa drink mixes for much the same reason. Stirring the oats into warm mile and waiting for them to thicken or heating milk in a small pan for a comforting cup of hot cocoa is oddly therapeutic for me. It provides me with a chance to slow down and breathe before indulging in some of the most wonderful comfort foods known to humankind.

I am bemused by the fidgety people, who shift uncomfortably in their chairs while waiting for the doctor, dentist, optometrist or the ten minute oil change guy to call their names. Why don't they prepare a bit better for the wait? Since I am always armed with a good book, a new magazine or my needlework

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