Playing games are my jam.

I bet you just thought to yourself, "She's nuts" and there's a good chance I am. I might also be an 80-year-old stuck in the body of a 22-year-old because what 22-year-old likes to waste their day away playing UNO and dominoes? But that's a post for another day.

There is one game that I can' t stand and it's called the waiting game.

No, I don't mean sitting on the couch waiting for something to fall from the sky, or even being impatient. I mean putting blood, sweat, and tears into something and cherishing the process. The outcome is just as rewarding as the work put in.

Waiting is a lot like learning to swim.

Do you remember learning to swim? I imagine myself wearing a frilly swimsuit, goggles that were too tight causing an imprint left on my face, and floaties that my parents put all their faith in. After multiple times jumping in the pool and having someone catch you, you try it on your own. You stare at the bottom of the pool and realize it's a lot deeper than you thought.

A quick breath, a plug of the nose, and jump.

Once you learned to swim, you discovered new obstacles like staying underwater longer than your sibling, jumping off the diving board, and swimming in the lanes without wandering into someone else's lane.

One minute you are above the water taking a breath and the next, you are underwater wondering how close you're to the end.

Waiting feels like swimming in a lane not knowing how close the wall is.

But that's okay because it wouldn't be rewarding if it was a hop, skip, and a jump. Taking the time to learn, practice, and succeed is not a quick fix. Waiting is the time when you think of different options and advance on old ideas.

It's a learning lesson. It's a process. What would you learn if everything happened suddenly? You would be praying for more down time.