The Sounds of Impatience

At some point in our lives, we have all done it. Some do it more often than others and there really is no pattern, no rhyme or reason for it - the 'whine' can occur at any given moment. Now, a study has released the findings that whining is actually the most annoying sound in the world. You can read the news report here.

My father has never been big in the patience department. Now that he is ninety years old, he has coined a response to his whining, "I'm ninety years old, I may not have much time left and, therefore, I do not want to spend it waiting in a doctor's office."

I can't say I blame him but my dear sweet mother is patient. She'll joke and tease him and try to get his patience meter going in the right direction. We were sitting in the doctor's office yesterday and there was a sign on the counter that said, "There will be a $5 charge for whining." We chuckled.

When two patients arrived after we were already seated and waiting for dad's name to be called and they were summoned before my father, the whining began, "What the…did you hear that? They called them before me. That's it, let's go."

My mother calmly told him to be "patient" that those other people were probably seeing another doctor. Dad calmed slightly at that thought but began to whine again as the time dragged on. Mind you, this is all happening in the span of about 20 minutes. It wasn't as though we were waiting for hours.

When my father's name was called, everyone was well aware that he was not happy about the wait. He stood abruptly and followed the nurse into the examining room. The doctor paused outside the door and when he entered the room, he said, "How are we doing today?" and I quickly explained that my father was not happy about the wait.

My mother, in her typical light-hearted manner added, "Well, I guess we'll just have to pay the $5 Whining fee."

Ephesians 4:2

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."

Sources:

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/06/22/science-confirms-it-whining-is-the-most-annoying-sound-ever/#ixzz1Q1aMTo7J

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/annoying-whine-evolution/