One of the universals of human experience is the frustration that arises when extended delays keep us from getting where we want to go, doing what we want to do.  A plane full of people sat on the tarmac at O'Hare airport in Chicago for over three hours while the folks in charge pondered whether or not to cancel the flight, reroute it, or just wait for the huge Midwestern thunderstorm that had come up to move on through.  We all know about this sort of thing because it happens all the time.   Whether it is getting tied up in traffic, building or remodeling a house, or waiting in line at the bank, grocery store or movie theater, delays happen; if they last long enough they are frustrating and even irritating.

But as long as we know that the wait will end these inevitable delays are bearable.  We can endure them because we know that sooner or later we will get where we need to be and do what we want to do.  Sometimes the delay is so long that we become convinced that it won't end. At times we discover that this isn't a delay we are facing, it is a profound disappointment; we aren't going to get where we wanted to get, we aren't going to do what we wanted to do.