Patience Part I

Several years ago (and before I was married), I was visiting Carl on the way in from Korat. We had decided to go out for lunch and took a short walk to a nearby Mexican restaurant, where we were later joined by his wife, Nok.

After lunch, we stopped by a 7/11 to get some snacks (beer) before we headed back to his house. It was crowded that time of day, and there was a long line at the check out counter. After a tortuous wait, I remember having bought our goodies and then, finding ourselves waiting, once again, but this time outside the 7/11. Carl turned to me and said - Joe, this is marriage.

I had not been paying attention, but apparently, while we were waiting in line, Carl had asked Nok if she wanted to get anything. She had not, but as soon as Carl had paid up, Nok decided that, in fact, she did need some things. Thus, she was now waiting at the end of a long line with a bottle of shampoo in her hand, and Carl and I were standing outside the large glass window staring back inside. Sweat began to bead across my forehead.

At the time, I thought he meant that marriage is waiting or time lost between point A and point B. More recently (and after being married), I've gained a new understanding of what he meant, and now believe that his message is this - marriage is patience.


This past Sunday, Nuch and I planned to have brunch at the Marriott. After rushing to get ready, I found myself waiting outside Nuch's house with those same beads of sweat appearing on my brow. Years ago, I would have grumbled to myself about having to wait or wasting time. Instead, I find myself practicing the disciplined art of patience.

By the way, the reason I'm writing this blog is not to tell you the secret to marriage or the meaning of life bla bla bla. The reason I'm telling you this is because while I was being patient, I had a chance to do something that I would not normally do - take pictures of flowers.

Eventually, I had taken a picture of every flower in the garden, so I went back inside and took a picture of Nuch's mother with her mother's day gift.

Then, back outside and taking more picture. (You can be thankful that I've chosen not to post the other 50+ pictures I took while being patient.)

The barbs on the wall surrounding Nuch's house

a Thai gardening hat

Another thing I've learned - the secret to having patience is having something worth waiting for - and Nuch certainly is that (34 years worth of waiting to be exact and another 5 minutes is not going to hurt).

Finally, check out this convoy of sugar ants that were busy bringing things in and out of Nuch's house. While being patient (and without harming a single ant), I decided to interrupt the monotony of their imprinted tasks - utter chaos ensues.