Friday, October 20, 2006

patience

There is an exasperation that comes with the people who belong to us.
It comes as though expected, like hair in clogged drains and banana peels in the street. It slips in slyly and chokes the little happy moments tripping blithely through your day.
Telephone laughs. Loud voices. Easy tears. Easy fears. Silences. Noises. Nagging. Caring. Sentences repeated. Sentences not heard. Mistakes. Assumptions. Conclusions. Things people do over and over and over till they're part of their personality. Things people say over and over and over till one can predict exactly the words that are going to come out of their mouth. All the lies people tell themselves, and the lies they tell you. All the lies you tell.
Knowing the people who live in your world means you know when and how they pretend; and you know when you do, too. And it is in these moments when things are rubbed the wrong way.
Living with someone gives you time to pick your peeves. Living with someone slams you with the details.

The exasperation will get under your skin. It will grab you and make you snap and scream and sulk and scowl, and then it will hold a mirror up to your face so you can see just what a pleasant person you are.
Oh, but I need some patience.

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