Waiting and Waiting, For This and That

I guess all the little things that I seem to be waiting for right now wouldn't feel quite so weighty if at the same time one wasn't waiting for the pandemic to end, or seem under control, or for anything about it to be definite (other than wear a mask, please wear a mask, you are wearing a mask, aren't you?). But it does seem as though I'm currently waiting for a lot of smaller things.

• A new air handler; our air conditioner has been sounding, shall we say, cranky lately, and we determined it was time to replace it--you know, before it decided to die on us in the middle of summer. Knock wood that doesn't happen before Tuesday, because that's when they're coming! So this one is a wait with an end in sight.
• New mattresses; we had been talking for a while about replacing our mattresses, which are old and not super comfortable, but that got (of course) delayed by the pandemic. A few weeks ago, we went into a local shop (masked, of course) and tested some out and I am in love with the one I'm getting. But they didn't have two in stock (Mom and I are getting the same kind), so we had to wait for the order. They're coming tomorrow, and I can't wait; knowing the old one is being replaced has somehow made it seem worse than it was. So this too is a wait with an end in sight.
• Unlike, say, the roofers. You may remember when I said that the truck was finally gone, but "Is the roofing actually for real done this time? I have no confirmation." As I mentioned a few days later, we were told that they did in fact have "a few more days" of work to do. They showed up, oh, Thursday or Friday. And came again Saturday. And may finish someday, theoretically, but I am calling this a wait with no concrete end in sight.
• COVID test results: there was a local testing event a week ago Saturday, so Mom and I went and got swabs stuck in our noses. Not that we're having symptoms, but it seemed like a good opportunity. But we waited all week and the results haven't come yet. In theory this is a wait with an end, but I don't feel like it's in sight yet. Oh, wait! Sunday afternoon, while this post was in draft, I got my results: SARS-CoV-2 not detected. Well, there's one thing.
• The mail has been less reliable lately, have you noticed? As the administration tries to kill off the postal service before the election? I am definitely noticing more packages that "will be delivered" on a certain day being delayed, and while none of it is urgent, it can get frustrating (especially when one is shopping therapeutically, so to speak). I ordered a book with knitting patterns in it (there's a shrug I want to make, for those cold-arms-at-the-desk days), and it was going to be delivered Friday except it was not, and it hasn't been scanned since Wednesday in Mississippi. They're not even guessing yet when it will arrive. Sigh.
• Yarn orders from Canada are even more so, which makes sense when you're dealing with two mail systems, plus a border crossing, and the pandemic, but it's a bummer when you just want your yarn to come.

In conclusion

One good thing that happened (so I'm not only mentioning complaints): recently they came and tested all the fire alarms in the building, a process that is by definition and by necessity godawful loud. And they actually did it when I was at water aerobics on Tuesday morning. I missed all the noise. Wonderful!