I have the nerve to pick today to talk about my feelings about people who are chronically late!....*shaking my head*...on the same morning where I myself am chronically late putting my blog up!! LOL And even so....I'm gonna talk about it!....I'm gonna chastise myself and 'take my lumps' along with all the rest of the excuse using 'I'm so sorry, but this or that made me late' people of the world!! ^_^
In between my yapping though, I'd like to show you a few of the pretty things I'm loving right now on Etsy, including those beautiful earrings in the header photo...I may wear those on my date tonight...virtually I mean! :-) The taxman is still insisting on getting his money, so I won't be purchasing them at this time...but you can! ^_^...and yes, I'll tell you a little bit about our 'virtual Date Night' trip tonight on this post too.
Okay, now I know this is gonna be a sore subject for some people...talking about their being late all the time...but it's a subject that just has to be talked about. It MUST!!...All of us have been late at one time or another...all of us! But what is your 'feeling' about being late?!
Are you the kind of person who takes things in stride? Is time a fluid thing for you...meaning you take it as it comes and you don't sweat it if you're late?!...Do you assume that because everybody is late sometimes that it's not that big of a deal if you are?!
Are you the kind of person that thinks being late is a fashionable thing, and you actually 'choose' to be a little late when you arrive at places?...Or are you the kind of person who is mortified at yourself that you can't seem to get anywhere on time, and you actually feel bad when you inconvenience people...but somehow you're still late everywhere...all the time?!
I have to admit that while I'm the kind of person that hates...I said HATES...to be late anywhere, I'm finding that I'm becoming a bit more sympathetic with people who can't seem to get themselves in gear to get anywhere on time!...Why am I becoming more sympathetic?!...Because I'm becoming one of those people that have good intentions, but yet I forget about time!!
My whole life I was the kind of person who believed that it was just plain bad manners if you were invited somewhere, or you had an appointment to be somewhere, and you showed up late! And, frankly, while I would grin and bare it, I really didn't have a whole lot of patience for people who were the "Hello, I'm here! So Sorry I'm late, but you know how it is" kinda people! I thought they should have been more apologetic and sorry and ready to make amends or something!
I never understood how anyone could just waltz into the doctor's office, past a waiting room full of 'on time' people, go up to the window, apologize for being late,...and then sit down and complain to everyone around them about how their time is being wasted just sitting there waiting on the doctor!! O_0
But now that my brain seems to want to make time a fluid thing, I understand you, my late compadres! ^_^ I don't mean the people who 'choose' to be late! I still don't understand you! LOL But the people who have the best intentions in the world, who start getting ready to go to an appointment hours before they need to be there, who agonize over what the traffic will be like, whether they should eat before or after their appointment, who REALLY don't want to make people mad, or 'get in trouble'.....YOU....I now understand you!
With my wacky...'time-ignoring, space-ignoring, work when I want to'...brain, I don't even try to make DEFINITE appointments for anything anymore! And if it's a necessity to make a definite appointment, I prep people ahead of time by saying something like this: "Okay, I'm gonna try my best to remember about the time, but please be patient with me if I'm late. In fact, call me when it's close to the time of the appointment to make sure I haven't forgotten...No! it's not you! You're very memorable, but not with this brain! LOL This brain is 'used', not brand new. It's got a tricky motor in it. LOL...So, just buzz me, ring me, holler at me...right away!...if you don't hear from me at the agreed upon time. I appreciate you. I love you. I need your help!"
To their credit, people have been very forgiving and loving about my lateness...or complete forgetfulness. But I'm not giving myself a pass. And I don't think chronically late people should give themselves a pass! We should work on it. We should be more thoughtful...if we can. We should be more unselfish...if it's within our control to do so. No bad manners allowed!...And remember, I'm talking to me as much as I'm talking to you...and YOU know who you are!! ^_^
To try to work on it, I've taken to doing a few things to help myself. Like setting a timer...sort of like an egg timer...to buzz me when I'm suppose to remember things...Like writing myself more notes and leaving them in conspicuous places so I don't forget! (On the front door above the door knob is my hubby's favorite spot now...He's got a little lateness issue too! I stick my notes on my computer, next to the mouse pad.)
I also don't answer my phone close to the time I'm suppose to have an appointment...or get on the computer, or turn the T.V. on! (Oh yeah! I've been distracted and totally forgot where or I was when the T.V. came on! ^_^...Lastly, I try to plan for the appointment by getting ready early, and allowing a few extra minutes to wind myself down to a calm state. This has been a BIG help! It's actually put me in a good mood for appointments where invariably you knew you weren't gonna be in a good mood for them!
Now, I'm curious, what are your feelings about time?!...Are you a late type person or an 'on-time no matter what' type person?!...Are you patient with people who are chronically late or do you choose friends based on their respect for your time?!...(I know some people who do this!...I used to be one! O_O)
Obviously I can't judge too much...considering my late self!!! But let's work on it "late-ies"!! Let's not think of it as okay, and that everybody will understand. You know they don't! We have to stop trying to fool ourselves about that. Let's let our lateness be a rare thing that everybody DOES understand, and let's endear ourselves to the people we have appointments with....Not annoy them to death!!! LOL...Are you with me?! ^_^ We can do it!!!
Now that I've pumped us all up....I need a nap. LOL I don't have much packing to do for our trip tonight...Actually no packing! It's within driving range. AND we're inviting someone to go with us this time! A first for our 'Virtual Date Night'! :-) I'll tell you all about it tomorrow....if we don't get snowed in or something. ^_^
Have a good weekend!
Spend some time with your kids,
do the errands you been meaning to do,
do a little grocery shopping,
maybe make a chicken stew.
Organize your messy space,
clean the closets, throw things out,
watch a little mindless T.V.,
and replace the bathroom grout.
Take a walk around the park,
play some board games with your friends,
maybe even cut your hair
(but just a little bit, off the ends).
Take a trip to Grandma's house,
do some gardening in the yard,
give new projects a little finish,
but nothing that might be too hard.
It's the weekend, after all;
It's your week's tail, at a wag;
No need for scurry, hurry, rushing.
No! You want this time to lag!
Spend some time with your kids,
do the errands you been meaning to do,
do a little grocery shopping,
maybe make a chicken stew.
Organize your messy space,
clean the closets, throw things out,
watch a little mindless T.V.,
and replace the bathroom grout.
Take a walk around the park,
play some board games with your friends,
maybe even cut your hair
(but just a little bit, off the ends).
Take a trip to Grandma's house,
do some gardening in the yard,
give new projects a little finish,
but nothing that might be too hard.
It's the weekend, after all;
It's your week's tail, at a wag;
No need for scurry, hurry, rushing.
No! You want this time to lag!
I can appreciate the being late thing. I'm the kind of person that always wants to be on time. I get flustered when I'm not. Unfortunately, these days, I'm having trouble in that area. I just either don't give myself enough time to get some place, or I procrastinate far too long.
ReplyDeleteHubby on the other hand, thinks it's fashionable to be late. I always tell him how frustrating it is for me when I invite someone over for a meal and tell them the time we'll be eating and when to come and they show up 15 min. or more late! I think it's rude to be late.
Anyway...everyone is different in this respect and I'm not judging anyone.
Nice post and I'm glad to see you. I was beginning to worry about you this morning.
Ohhhhh! So I'm not the only one that's having a change in her norm, huh?! Like you, I always wanna be on time, but lately...UGH! Time is just getting away from me...I have to say though, when people have been invited to my house for a meal and they show up 30 minutes, 2 hours, and sometimes not at all...without even a phone call!...Ooooo! That makes steam come right out of my ears!! If it's a snack like get together and they're bringing the food and drinks I don't care how late they are. But come on people! Where are your manners?!...I'm not judging either. I say this more for myself than anybody. I've got to work on this and get better. We can excuse it away, but truthfully...it's bad manners, pure and simple...no matter whose doing it...in my own opinion anyway...By the way, I had early company again this morning. My friend taught me how to embroidery and I got caught up and lost track of time! ^_^ See what I mean?!..*shaking my head*
DeleteMy dad always drilled it in to me to be on time that it was rude and bad manners if you were late, but if it happened that you were as sometimes in life, life does get in the way and accidents happen so to speak to always say how sorry you were. At the end of the day manners cost nothing. But sometimes i feel its ok to be late as long as you inform the person your going to be. Have a lovely weekend, dee x
ReplyDeleteSounds to me like your dad and I are on the same wave-length. Everybody has things happen that they can't control or don't expect, so all of us are susceptible to being late somewhere! But as your father said, good manners at least should make you feel bad about it, and make you, in some way or the other, tell the person you're sorry and that you'll be there as soon as possible...or will try to do better the next time! It does me! That's why I know that my current habit of lateness or forgetfulness has to be worked on!...Have a good weekend, Dee! And thank you for your comment. :-)
DeleteAlthough sometimes it's unavoidable I hate being late!! I'm the one who sits in the car for 10 minutes because I've arrived too early!!
ReplyDeleteHaving said that it's a good job we're all different!!!
Yes, Sometimes it is unavoidable. That's why good manners and good communication are so important, right?!...And I also have been known to be somewhere early, sitting in the car waiting. ^_^ And I kinda liked that! It was much better than than frazzle that you put yourself in when you show up late! Somehow you just feel out of place all night!! LOL I'm glad I only have to worry about fixing my manners and not everyone else's on this! I'm a piece of work! LOL
ReplyDeleteI have a quote that someone shared with me years ago and it's stuck in my head ever since "I'd rather be late than DEAD on time" Basically it's a reminder not to rush or speed to your destination or you may have an accident.
ReplyDeleteNow that being said I always leave early for appointments in the hope that I have allowed extra time for slow traffic, road-works etc. I hate being late. I have even been known to set the clock 5 - 10 minutes fast so that it gives us extra time to get somewhere. Others in the house (who shall remain nameless) like to leave things until last minute. Now I just tell them our appointment is earlier than it actually is. I know I shouldn't fib but it gets us out of the door earlier and we make it to our destination with time to spare.
As for people who run late. I'd like to think I am quite forgiving. Sometimes being late just can't be helped :)
Ha! Ha! I have to say...if the choice is late or DEAD...I'd go with late too! ^_^ But you have the right idea....leave early if you can, and get there before you have to get all frantic!...Have a good day!
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