Ah, how the mind tricks us. I have half-remembered the short work, Waiting for Godot, and having read it in high school, believed it to have been written by Moliere. Apparently, Samuel Beckett created this gem of a non-work in which nothing much happens while two men are waiting for Godot.
Godot never shows up.
How often have I or others close to me been promised that someone would meet us at a certain time and it never happened, or else they appeared much later than expected, after having totally disrupted us in the meantime. Such was the case of a woman who promised to visit her dying father and revealed a specific date and time she’d arrive. As the old man waited, and worried, a phone call revealed that she had “changed her mind.” She showed up for the funeral.
The same woman promised to pick up her sister at an airport. Being a no-show and leaving her sister stranded, with a tired, hungry 18 month old, she only appeared after being called and reminded. She was too busy enjoying her pool.
With some people, it is just predictable that they will be late, or that they will never follow through on a promise. Personally, I believe it is important to live up to commitments, and not leave anyone standing around, twiddling their thumbs while “waiting for Godot.” The three words have entered our language and become a metaphor for lackadaisical, lazy, uncommitted people.
In Spanish, the word that means “tomorrow” can have the same connotation. Fluff something off until “tomorrow,” but “tomorrow never comes.”
There is another saying: “In God’s own time.” None of us fully understands God’s time, as He is on His own schedule, an unannounced one. Scholars have argued about the seven days of creation. Was the world really created in only seven days, as we measure time today? Probably not. A “day” is a measure of the passage of time, but was it really 24 hours?
The best for which we can wish, is that we are not left “waiting for Godot,” and that others will not let us down, now, or when we are about to take our last breath. We can also improve quality of life for other people, as well as lessen their stress, if we only do our part in keeping commitments, and do so in a timely fashion. Three cheers for dependable people!
If “Waiting for Godot” were the basis for creating a small quilt, all the blocks in a time sequence would be the same, two men standing on a corner, doing nothing, and each block could be captioned, “He’s not here yet!!!”
Have any of you had a similar experience? If so, write to: webmaster@quiltersmuse.com
Patricia Cummings
