. . . life sometimes simply gave you a whole new perspective by waiting around long enough for you to see it.

[shootingstar]

"She saw that Izzy had texted. Sorry I didn't get back last night/this morning. I wanted a proper discussion! Thesis antithesis synthesis. The whole works. How are you? I miss you. Oh, and guess what? I'm thinking of coming back to the UK in June. For good. Miss you, my friend. Also have a TON of humpback pics coming your way. xxx
Nora made a slight noise of involuntary joy at the back of her throat.
She texted back. It was interesting, she mused to herself, how life sometimes simply gave you a whole new perspective by waiting around long enough for you to see it."
(Source: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, episode Living Versus Understanding)

What does "waiting around" mean here, what does it express? In what respect does the meaning of "waiting around" differ from the meaning of "waiting" in this context? Does "for you" logically and grammatically refer to "waiting around long enough" ("waiting around long enough for you"), or does "for you" refer to "to see it" ("for you to see it")? Please explain why you favour the one over the other.

 

[SoothingDave]

"Waiting around" has some subtle differences from "waiting." One could wait elsewhere. "Waiting around" indicates you remain present.

I could be waiting for a package to be delivered. But I could be waiting around in the lobby of my building for the delivery guy to come.

The way the phrase breaks down is "long enough / for you to see it."

There's a perspective. After enough time passes you will see it. Time is personified as waiting around long enough. Long enough for what? For you to see it.

 

[Annabel Lee]

She texted back. It was interesting, she mused to herself, how life sometimes simply gave you a whole new perspective by waiting around long enough for you to see it." . . .

What does "waiting around" mean here, what does it express? In what respect does the meaning of "waiting around" differ from the meaning of "waiting" in this context?

The addition of "around" to "wait" in the phrasal verb "wait around" conveys that the one waiting is passing the time in various ways rather than simply sitting still in a pure act of waiting. When people wait around at an airport for hours on end, they typically don't just sit in a chair; they may read, nap, shop, eat, talk, etc., to pass the time. In the context of your quote, in which life is personified as one waiting around, life does all sorts of things as it "waits" for the speaker to see it.

Does "for you" logically and grammatically refer to "waiting around long enough" ("waiting around long enough for you"), or does "for you" refer to "to see it" ("for you to see it")?

When we wait, we typically wait for someone or something, or for something to happen. However, I think "for you to see it" is best understood here as complementing "enough," which in turn modifies "long." We're talking about duration here; life (personified) must wait around long enough (for a long enough period of time) for "you" to see it (to be seen by "you").

P.S. It wasn't until after I made this post that I noticed that SoothingDave had replied. I like what he has said here, too.

 

[jutfrank]

A slightly different but hopefully not contradictory answer:

The added meaning of around is something like 'in one particular place'. In this case, the particular place is life itself (i.e., not dying).

The phrase 'you to see it' is the event that is waited for. That is, you see it before you die.

 

[emsr2d2]

Depending on context, it can express some sort of frustration or negativity.

Me: I'll meet you at the station. My train's due there at 10am.
Friend: Great. My train gets in at 1pm.
Me: What?! I'm not waiting around for three hours. I'll go and do a bit of sightseeing and come back in time for your train.

It can suggest that you feel it's a waste of your time. Similar phrases are "hanging about/hanging around".