Last Updated: March 30, 2026
This article originally appeared in The Tennessean.
“To lose patience is to lose the battle.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Like millions of others this past holiday season, I was one of the unfortunate victims of “Southwest-gate” (pun intended).
We decided at the last minute to make our first-ever attempt at snow skiing the week before Christmas. It had been a few years since we’d been on a big family vacation, and we figured it would be good to spend quality family time together doing something adventurous.
Getting a flight delayed or canceled is of course nothing new. Nearly every flight I’ve been on over the past six months has been a flip of the coin as to whether we would take off a few hours late or a few days late. But especially during the holidays, when life is supposed to slow down a bit, being stranded in an airport is enough to push even the most patient among us over the proverbial edge.
But patience, as they say, is a virtue. And whether it’s business or life in general, it’s one of most important lessons to learn. And just like anything that’s hard to master, patience takes practice.
For our family, practicing patience started at the very beginning of our trip—the always formidable TSA security line.
Packed with holiday travelers, I was one of the lucky ones to be plucked out of the TSA-pre-check line (that I had patiently waited in for 15 minutes,) and had to start over at the main checkpoint. Game on.
