Punctuality
I admit it. I have punctuality issues. I struggle with it, and I know a lot of people out there are fighting a similar battle. Someone should start a Punctuality Challenged Anonymous group. We could sure use the help.
I am pretty sure I know what some of you are thinking, “This is all your fault! Just pull yourself together and get out of the house on time! It’s not that hard!” You’re right. It’s not, but for some reason, try as I might, I always seem to find myself just a little bit behind schedule, and if I am on schedule, something seems to go wrong. I get stuck at a train crossing or I can’t find a parking space or traffic is backed up, and the next thing you know, I’m rushing into my appointment a few minutes late. I rationalize this tardiness by telling myself that when I arrive at said appointment, I will almost certainly have to wait, but I would still prefer to be punctual.
This issue goes back a long way. I believe it began when I was a young, constantly multitasking mother trying to get everything done and get everybody where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there. No matter how well organized you are, that can get crazy, but does your family realize this? No, they do not. I remember the day that one of my children stood around patiently waiting for me to take him somewhere while I hurried to get myself ready. He strolled up to me and said, “Mom, here’s the problem. You are figuring out exactly how long it will take you to get somewhere, and you don’t leave one minute before you have to. You need to allow some extra time.” Easy for him to say.
Now that the children are gone, I can’t really use that excuse anymore; however, I’m happy to report that I am getting better. Now I’m rarely more than three or four minutes late. I’m trying to get down to two or three, and from there, who knows? On one recent occasion I was right on time, and as I took my seat in the waiting room that day, a self-satisfied smile began to spread across my face, and for one brief, shining moment, I was overcome with the most incredible sense of accomplishment you could ever imagine. If only, if only I could sustain it.