People often say that they admire my patience. THe employees at the pharmacy tell me that sometimes when my dad has hassled them about something (like leaving the newspaper on the pharmacy counter) or when he has told them the same thing ten times within 30 minutes. I try to be very patient with my daddy. After all, he is not asking the same question over and over to irritate me. He doesn't remember that he asked me the exact same question 5 minutes ago. I try to respond as though I am answering the question for the first time each time he asks. My mom has a harder time doing this on some days. Of course, she spends more time with him than I do and it can wear on your nerves-especially if you are bothered about something else already, or if you are tired from the emotional energy expended in being a caregiver. I certainly understand Mom's frustration and some days I feel just as frustrated, but try very hard to conceal it-at least from him.
One day an employee said "I admire your patience". I asked her "Do you know where my patience came from?". My patience came from my daddy. Daddy does not seem very patient these days, but he has been a patient person through the years. I have never seen him lash out at anyone or be rude with anyone in all my 50 plus years. He owns a business and deals with the public. He believes in treating the customer with respect at all times- even when the customer is totally wrong, crazy, and/or mean. I worked in the pharmacy as a sales clerk a few hours in the afternoon when I was a teenager. Daddy always expected me to be kind and courteous to the customer-no matter what. He does get impatient or frustrated with other folks in business who do not treat people with respect or who do not care whether the customer is satisfied. It's a good thing that his primary business work was in the 50's, 60's, 70's. He would not be very happy about the way some people have been taught (not taught) by their parents.