Respecting Time Part 1

Don't be Late.

The departure sign in Nice, France summer 2009

Ask me what my mood was, after running to the train station because Husband told me I needed to...

When you'e late, you're saying one of two things.
1. "My time is more important than your time." 
2. "I'm irresponsible."

Neither of these are good, and neither one makes anyone feel good or happy.

I understand that your house is a mess and you need to switch the laundry before you walk out the door, but guess what? I need to do those things too.  If I can't be somewhere when I said I would, because I'm too busy doing something else, I'm being disrespectful to you, and vice versa.  Everyone has too much to get done, the difference between someone being late and on time, is a person's ability to accept that those things can and will wait for them,  I on the other hand will not.

I have experienced this disrespect more than I can count.  It's something that haunts me from my childhood.  My mom was always the last one to dance class, so much so that I would be waiting 15-30 minutes after class, while the owner stayed, because the studio was closed for the night.  I love my mom and she's the nicest person, except when it comes to respecting your time.  She's always 45 minutes late to family gatherings.  And hours late leaving for road trips.  One of my biggest pet peeves is {one that word! and} when someone is late or makes me wait for them.  I know I'm not the most patient person in the world and you might think that since I'm used to waiting, I'd be over it.  But I'm not.  And if you want to upset me without really trying, all you have to do is be late.

The second issue with being late is poor time management.  After 26 years on this earth I know it will take me 20 minutes to get from here to there, and about an hour to get ready.  If you haven't figured this out for yourself and your own situations by now, you're irresponsible.

Do the math!  Make sure you can fit in everything, that you scheduled and if you can't, politely inform the other party when you can reschedule. I know that recently this inability to manage time has been classified as a disorder, but I think that's bull shit.  We all have clocks and we all run off internal timing.  We know that the sun rises and sets and we know things need to be done before or during that time.  We know when we need to eat and we know when we need to sleep.  Why is it so hard for some people to know when they need to leave or arrive?

Think about this the next time you're running late, and how much you're inconveniencing others, do you want them to think you're disrespectful? or irresponsible?  If you're late, they probably do.

So, be on time!